The changing of the guard, or: The twelve tasks of Pekoe
by Ianho
Summary: All things must come to an end, and Darjeeling's time as commander of St. Gloriana's senshadou team is no exception. However, she's not quite ready to hand the mantle to Orange Pekoe just yet. At least, not without making sure that Pekoe has what it takes to be the next commander...
1. Prologue

It was a cold, wet day in St. Gloriana's Girls' College. The windows shook and rattled with every fresh gust of wind, all while the rain pounded a steady drumbeat on the roof. It was days like this, Orange Pekoe mused, that made one grateful for a warm, dry room with a roaring fire. She sipped at her tea carefully, feeling its warmth slowly diffuse through her.

Next to her, Darjeeling let out a sigh, the sound audible even over the crackle of the fire. She set her empty cup down, fine bone china clinking gently against the saucer.

"More tea, Darjeeling-sama? This particular batch really is quite good. It was a gift from Miho-san, in thanks for that small matter over the summer." Pekoe lifted the teapot slightly, half-smiling.

"Thank you, Pekoe. That would be nice," Darjeeling acknowledged. She made no move to lift up her cup, though, and Pekoe had to get up and lean over slightly to fill her commander's cup.

As Pekoe sank back into her seat, she exchanged a glance with Assam, the only other person in the room. Darjeeling had invited both of them over for tea in her sitting room, as was her usual habit. Darjeeling herself, however, had been acting most unusually the whole afternoon. She had been quiet, taciturn, and somewhat lost in thought, not saying anything beyond the most perfunctory replies. She hadn't even quoted a single saying the whole time! Pekoe was used to Darjeeling's eccentricities, but even she was starting to get worried.

Darjeeling turned to Pekoe at that precise moment, almost as if she had heard what Pekoe was thinking.

"Pekoe, could you be a dear and get my scarf from the commander's office? I'm feeling a little chilly today."

"Of course, Darjeeling-sama."

As the sound of Pekoe's footsteps faded away, Assam glared at her commander.

"Oh, don't give me that look, Assam. You know just as well as I do that Pekoe wasn't fooled. That girl may look like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, as the English say, but you underestimate her at your peril," Darjeeling said, a wry expression on her face.

Assam simply continued frowning. Ignoring Darjeeling, she picked up her own cup of tea and took a cursory sip, before putting it down forcefully enough that the tea threatened to slosh over the rim.

"Tell me, Darjeeling, what's gotten you so worked up? You haven't been yourself the whole afternoon. It's obvious that it's something to do with Pekoe, what with sending her off on an errand that even a five-year old could see was an excuse, but I honestly can't see what the problem could be."

Darjeeling didn't answer immediately. Instead, she leaned backwards, letting herself slump slightly in the armchair. For someone of Darjeeling's usual bearing, this was practically flopping down and curling up into a ball.

Eventually, just as the silence was beginning to stretch out uncomfortably, Darjeeling spoke.

"Do you perhaps remember our first year in the senshadou team, Assam?"

Assam was even more uneasy now. She had known Darjeeling ever since they had joined the senshadou team together as raw first-years. They had been through thick and thin together, with Assam always content to be Darjeeling's silent shadow, supporting her from the background. In all their time as friends, Assam had never seen Darjeeling so...disheartened, for lack of a better word. She picked up her teacup again, taking a reflexive sip to calm herself before answering.

"Yes, I remember it well, Darjeeling. Is there any particular incident you're thinking of?"

"Do you remember the transition from Ceylon-taichou to Earl Grey-taichou?"

"What transition? Ceylon-taichou left without any warning, or even before naming a successor. Earl Grey-taichou simply wasn't ready when she had to step into the role, and it took her nearly half the term just to get things back to where they were before... Ah. I see."

Darjeeling sat up, her expression sharper.

"Exactly. We will be graduating soon, and I have decided that Pekoe is to be my replacement as commander of St. Gloriana's senshadou team. She is the best candidate for the job, but I must admit to being somewhat concerned whether she can handle it."

Assam set her tea down, looking straight at her old friend.

"Darjeeling, you're worrying too much. You've trained her well over the last year, and she's taken to it like a natural. Trust me; she is ready."

Darjeeling grimaced, shaking her head slightly.

"Nevertheless, one can never be wholly sure of these things. Pekoe is good, yes, but I have always been there to reassure and guide her. Once I leave, will she be able to manage? It would be most unfair to subject Pekoe to what Earl Grey-taichou had to go through, and a clear dereliction of my duty to St. Gloriana's team as well."

Assam frowned. While she didn't agree completely with Darjeeling's assessment, her commander did have a point.

"If that's how you feel, why not test Orange Pekoe's skills yourself? That way, you can hand the team over with a light heart when she performs to your satisfaction."

Darjeeling's face lit up, and she smiled for the first time that afternoon.

"As usual, you have hit on the solution to my problem with complete accuracy, my dear Assam. Yes, giving Pekoe certain tasks to complete is a wonderful idea. Twelve seems like an ideal number, don't you think? It has a most illustrious precedent, after all. In fact, I can already think of several excellent options..."

"Now hold on, Darjeeling. Isn't that going a bit too far? I was thinking of something like getting her to command an exhibition match or two, not —"

Darjeeling held up her hand, gesturing for silence.

"No, no, Assam. I have made up my mind. Now hush, I think I hear Pekoe returning."

Orange Pekoe entered the room, scarf clutched in one hand while the other closed the door softly behind her. From the sound of things, she was interrupting a polite disagreement between her two seniors.

"Here's your scarf, Darjeeling-sama."

"Thank you, Pekoe. Now as I was saying, Assam, clotted cream is the only proper condiment for consumption with buttered scones, and strawberry jam an inferior substitute. I don't understand why you insist on persisting in your erroneous beliefs."

Orange Pekoe eyed both of them suspiciously for a few seconds, but soon put her crewmates' strange behaviour behind her with a mental shrug. Something was brewing, but she'd find out what it was soon enough. Until then, she might as well enjoy the company and the tea. She'd been Darjeeling's loader long enough to know that Darjeeling would bring it up when she was good and ready, but not a moment before. Besides, her commander was behaving normally again, and that meant all was well. For now, Pekoe would relax and forget her cares for a little while longer.


	2. Pekoe and the Tea Party

Ruhuna, the driver of Darjeeling's Churchill tank, was a superb tank driver, capable of getting the Churchill to achieve speeds and perform feats that would have given its designers a heart attack. She was also a quiet, mousy first-year who was far too much in awe of her seniors to even think of socialising with them outside senshadou practice. Even gentle Pekoe had never been able to persuade her to attend one of Darjeeling's afternoon tea sessions, and it didn't look like her current attempt would be the one to break the trend.

"Ruhuna-san, are you sure you don't want to come to tea today? Darjeeling-sama specifically asked if you were coming, you know?"

Ruhuna's green eyes opened wide, and her brown ponytail whipped from side to side as she frantically shook her head. "Tea with Darjeeling-sama, Assam-sama and all the other seniors?! No, I couldn't possibly go! I'll spill something on myself, or use the wrong fork, or say something completely inappropriate, or — "

Pekoe resisted the urge to sigh as Ruhuna teetered on the edge of hyperventilating. She could still remember what life had been like as a first-year, after all. It took a while for most people to get used to the standards expected of a member of the Tea Garden and the senshadou team.

"Ruhuna-san, you're our crewmate. We just want to get to know you better and enjoy your company. Also, you're not the only first-year invited, you know."

Ruhuna bowed so deeply, Pekoe could see the back of her head. "Pekoe-sama! I'm really sorry, but I really can't come!"

This time, Pekoe really did let out a sigh.

* * *

That afternoon's teatime, hosted by Assam, was a particularly lively one. Assam herself was in fine fettle, with one joke following another almost non-stop. Rosehip had been reduced to incoherent guffaws halfway through, and Darjeeling was looking terribly amused. The rest of the guests had simply kept a somewhat fixed smile on their faces the entire time, though the first-years hadn't been completely successful at hiding their bewilderment.

"Pencil! Oh, that joke never gets old, Assam," Darjeeling exclaimed as she gently dabbed away a few tears with her handkerchief. "I still think the one about the bear was your best one yet, though."

Assam preened at the praise, even as Rosehip continued shaking with laughter, teacup waving from side to side. Darjeeling smiled, leaning back slightly and looking around the room. Jasmine was doing her best to avoid the drops of tea sloshing out of Rosehip's cup, even as she gave the still-giggling Rosehip the best glare she could muster. Across the room, Rukuriri was engaged in an animated conversation with Cranberry and Vanilla. It probably involved cakes, if the gestures in the direction of the Battenberg and the poppy-seed cake on the table were any indication. Peppermint, Rooibos, and Oolong, the only first-years attending, seemed content to simply listen in on the conversation of their seniors, while Orange Pekoe was chatting quietly with Nilgiri. As she mentally tallied the number of people in the room, Darjeeling's forehead creased slightly. It appeared that she would have to give Pekoe her first task a little sooner than she had thought.

"Pekoe? Would you mind coming over here for a little while?" Darjeeling called.

Making her apologies to Nilgiri, Pekoe rose and made her way over to where Darjeeling was seated.

"Pekoe, didn't you invite Ruhuna for tea today?" Darjeeling asked quietly. Only Assam would be able to hear her conversation with Pekoe from here, especially if she kept her voice low.

Pekoe turned a rueful expression on her commander.

"Darjeeling-sama, Ruhuna-san still won't come for tea. I tried asking her, but she refused. She seemed to be rather nervous at the thought of attending, so I let her be."

Darjeeling nodded, picking up her cup.

"Let me tell you a proverb. 'You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink'."

She took a long sip of her steaming tea before continuing.

"On the other hand, it is also said: 'There is nothing impossible to one who would try'. This state of affairs cannot continue. If we are to function as an effective unit, especially in combat, Ruhuna must come to grow more comfortable with us. Pekoe, I want you to persuade Ruhuna to not just attend these gatherings, but to host one. It will be excellent training for her confidence. I leave the details up to you, of course."

Pekoe nodded slowly, face troubled but resolute. "Of course, Darjeeling-sama."

* * *

The tea party broke up soon afterwards, with everyone going their respective ways, mellow and full of good tea and cake. Pekoe was about to leave with the rest, but noticed that Darjeeling had not yet moved from her place.

"Darjeeling-sama, aren't you leaving? It's getting a bit late."

Darjeeling smiled, waving Pekoe on. "Go ahead, Pekoe. I will be staying behind to help Assam with the washing up."

Pekoe turned around, clearly intending to stay. "In that case, let me help too."

"Nonsense, Pekoe. I insist you leave it to us. This sort of thing helps with keeping one grounded. After all, is it not said that 'Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues'?"

Pekoe gave Darjeeling a wan smile. "That's from Confucius, isn't it?"

"Indeed it is, Pekoe. Now, you really should be heading off now. Don't you have an examination tomorrow to study for?"

Pekoe winced at that. "All right, Darjeeling-sama, if you insist. I'll see you at the next practice then. Take care."

As Pekoe left, Darjeeling rose, gathering the cups and other utensils from the table and carrying them over to the little pantry next to the sitting room, where Assam had already begun the process of cleaning up. As Darjeeling set them down by the sink, Assam turned towards her friend.

"So, is that her first task? Didn't seem very subtle to me, if you're still planning to go through with this crazy idea of testing Pekoe without her realising what you're doing."

Darjeeling picked up a freshly-rinsed teacup, wiping it dry before placing it aside for later storage.

"I'm hurt, Assam. You really think so little of my ability to dissemble?" Darjeeling sounded offended, but the slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth betrayed her true feelings.

Assam snorted, grabbing the next plate and scrubbing it fiercely. "I wouldn't dare, Darjeeling- _sama_ , but someone's got to be the voice of sanity when Pekoe isn't around." Her tone softened as she continued. "Just let me know if you need me to help with anything. I have a feeling you'll need it soon."

"For now, just keep an eye on Pekoe for me, would you? That's all I'm asking."

"I would have done that anyway, Darjeeling. Don't worry."

A comfortable silence fell for a while, as both girls continued washing and drying.

"Thank you, Assam. For everything." Darjeeling's voice was quiet, but heartfelt.

Assam coloured slightly. "It's nothing. What are friends for, after all?"

Darjeeling chuckled a little. "Do you know this saying? 'Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods'."

"How on earth does Pekoe manage to put up with you and your quotes? In fact, how on earth do _I_ manage to put up with you and your quotes?"

"It's from Aristotle, by the way. Pekoe would have known that."

"Oh, put a sock in it, Darjeeling!"

* * *

Pekoe had started out by asking the other first years in the senshadou team about Ruhuna. Unfortunately, they hadn't been able to give her much help.

"Ruhuna-san? We don't really know that much about her, Pekoe-sama. She mostly keeps to herself. Isn't that right, Peppermint?" Oolong, loader of Rukuriri's Matilda II, was a blunt, no-nonsense girl who kept her black hair in a pageboy cut. She was currently giving Pekoe a puzzled look, as if she wasn't quite sure why she was even being asked the question.

Peppermint nodded her assent. The cheery brunette served as the gunner in the same tank as Oolong. The two of them were as different as chalk and cheese, but they seemed to have formed an unlikely friendship, and were rarely to be seen apart.

"She's a nice girl, as far as I know, but she's very quiet in class, and she almost never spends any time with us. I would have thought you'd know more about her than us, Pekoe-sama, since she's the driver of the Churchill and all," Peppermint added.

Pekoe frowned a little. Apparently even the other first-years weren't all that close to her. Oh well, she'd just have to go direct to the source then.

"Is that so? Do you at least know which class she is in?"

Oolong brightened up a little. "Oh, she's in our class. Class 1-1, of the General Studies program."

Pekoe smiled, bowing slightly to her juniors. "Thank you, Oolong-san. You've been very helpful."

As Pekoe walked away, Peppermint nudged her friend. "Why'd you think Pekoe-sama wants to know about Ruhuna-san?"

"Who knows? Besides, it's really none of our business. I'm sure Pekoe-sama knows what she's doing."

Peppermint looked a little disappointed. "We should keep our ears open though. I'm positive that something interesting is going on."

Oolong groaned. "Yes, Peppermint, we all know you think that the Noble Sisters are doing something real hush-hush. No, I don't think it has anything to do with their love lives, or their supposed plans to buy a Tortoise tank, or that they're even plotting anything at all!"

Peppermint crossed her arms and pouted. "Just you wait, you skeptic. You'll see. And when the time comes, you'll be sorry you didn't listen to the great Peppermint-sama."

"Fat chance! Now come on, class is gonna start soon!"

* * *

Ruhuna had been avoiding her seniors, forewarned by some sixth sense, but her luck ran out a few days after the tea party. She was leaving English class, so engrossed in figuring out why she had scored so badly in the oral test (Why wasn't 'entrepreneur' pronounced the way it was spelt?!) that she completely missed Orange Pekoe waiting patiently beside the door. At least, until she nearly collided with her.

"Wha — Pekoe-sama! What are you doing here?" Ruhuna began glancing about wildly for an escape route, but the corridor was too crowded with students to allow for a clean getaway.

"I came to see you, actually. Would you please come with me, Ruhuna-san? I just want to talk for a little while." Pekoe's smile would have melted a heart of stone, and Ruhuna was completely unable to say no to her.

"A-all right, Pekoe-sama. I have a free period after this anyway."

As they left, a few curious eyes followed them.

"Say, Oolong, wasn't that Pekoe-sama with Ruhuna-san just now?"

Oolong looked over at Peppermint, and immediately paled when she saw her friend's eager expression.

"Peppermint, whatever it is you're planning to do, it's a bad idea and you shouldn't do it. Peppermint? Peppermint! Get back here right now! PEPPERMINT!"

* * *

Orange Pekoe and Ruhuna made their way over to an empty room, Ruhuna noticeably nervous. Once they were inside, with the door securely closed, Pekoe turned to her junior.

"Ruhuna-san, might I ask if you could do me a favour?"

"Ehhh! Me? W-what is it, Pekoe-sama?"

"The next tea party for the team is in a week's time, and we would appreciate it very much if you could act as the hostess for the upcoming gathering. I know it's a bit sudden, but Darjeeling-sama thinks it would be good training for you, and I agree with — Ruhuna-san, are you alright? Would you like to sit down?"

Ruhuna collapsed into the chair behind her, face blank with terror. A moment later, she found her voice.

"Pekoe-sama! No, no, no, no, no! I couldn't possibly do it!"

"Ruhuna-san, I think you're perfectly capable of acting as a fine hostess. We've seen you in battle, and you've been nothing but exemplary there. Why are you so uncomfortable with interacting with us outside of senshadou? Darjeeling-sama is worried about you, you know." The open window rattled a little, probably from a stray gust of wind. Pekoe frowned at the noise.

Ruhuna was looking more and more frantic as the conversation progressed. "Ahh, umm, Pekoe-sama? D-do we really have to discuss this?"

"I'm afraid we do, Ruhuna-san," Pekoe said, keeping a serious expression on her face.

Ruhuna tried to avoid Pekoe's gaze, fidgeting more and more as the seconds crawled by. Eventually, the silence became too much for the first year to handle.

"I-It's just, umm — I've always found it hard t-to talk to other people! Trying to interact with other people scares me, especially people like D-Darjeeling-sama. She's just so... so perfect!"

Now that Ruhuna had started, it was as though she couldn't stop herself. "It's the same with Assam-sama and the other seniors as well! They all seem so, so calm, so elegant, all the time! Well, except Rosehip-sama, but she's so confident and full of life! If they all knew what kind of a person I was, they'd never want to associate with me. I'm plain and clumsy, I can't make witty conversation, and I can't behave like a proper lady! They'd throw me out of the Tea Garden if they realised all this!" She buried her face in her hands, shaking a little.

Pekoe was feeling a little stunned. She had expected to be dealing with a nervous junior, not one undergoing a full-blown meltdown. "But what about when you're driving? You never seemed to be this uncomfortable with us at those times."

"It's different then! Driving a tank is the only time I've ever felt confident!" Ruhuna's voice was wavering, but she still continued. "Even in elementary and middle school, it always came easily to me. Tanks don't j-judge or make nasty remarks about you, after all. When I was accepted to the senshadou team and started driving for Darjeeling-sama, I felt so honoured! The commander herself, wanting me to drive her tank! I couldn't possibly let her down, so I redoubled my efforts at practice. A-and then she actually invited me to her tea parties! I couldn't bear to attend and embarrass myself the way I knew I would! Darjeeling-sama would never let me in her tank again! How could I ever think I could host a tea party?"

The first-year stopped there, panting a little after her outburst. She looked a little stunned at just how much she had said, Pekoe thought. The poor girl must have been holding all this in for weeks, if not months.

"I'm glad you trusted me enough to tell me all this, Ruhuna-san. Let me assure you that no one will be throwing you out of the Tea Garden or the senshadou team, so please don't fret."

Ruhuna's lip was quivering. "Pekoe-sama? A-are you sure?"

"I most certainly am. You're a part of the team, and we're glad to have you on it. Now, would you like me to help you with the tea party? If you're worried about organising it or being the hostess, I'll personally teach you everything you need to know, so you don't need to worry yourself about that. I'm not sure what happened back in your previous schools, but if anyone tries something rotten like that in St. Gloriana's, none of us will stand for it."

"Y-you'd do that? For me?"

"Of course, Ruhuna-san. We're friends, aren't we?"

Ruhuna's breath caught in her throat, before she began sniffing, then outright sobbing. The first-year looked at Orange Pekoe through teary eyes, babbling out her thanks.

Pekoe fished out a handkerchief and handed it to Ruhuna. Once she had blown her nose, Pekoe gently took the first-year's hand and pulled her to her feet. "Now, off you go, Ruhuna-san. Go and wash your face, then come meet me when you're feeling better."

Still sniffling, Ruhuna slipped out the door, but not before giving Pekoe a grateful smile. Once the door shut once more, Pekoe let out a sigh. She hadn't realised that Ruhuna had been feeling so insecure. What would Darjeeling-sama do in a case like this? Probably recite some obscure proverb and leave everyone baffled, then cook up some ridiculous plan that would somehow manage to give Ruhuna enough confidence to make a Saunders girl seem insecure. Oh well; she was no Darjeeling-sama, but she would do her best anyway. But first...

Pekoe coughed, and lifted her voice slightly. "I know you two can hear me. Please come in now, and shut the window before that."

The window immediately slammed shut. After a short while, the door creaked open again, and two guilty-looking first-years slunk in, eyes firmly fixed on the floor.

"How'd you know, Pekoe-sama?" Peppermint muttered. Next to her, Oolong just groaned in dismay.

"It wasn't that hard to spot you two at the window, you know. It's also a little counter-productive to make so much noise when trying to eavesdrop." Pekoe placed her hands on her hips, fixing the two of them with her best stern look. "Peppermint-san, Oolong-san, I'm disappointed in you."

The two first-years shifted uneasily.

"We're sorry, Pekoe-sama. We let our curiosity get the better of us. We won't tell a soul, I swear." Peppermint sounded contrite, at any rate.

"I should hope so! Anyway, I'm enlisting the two of you as helpers in training Ruhuna-san. I expect to see both of you here during your afternoon break for the next few weeks. That should remind you not to listen outside windows."

Oolong attempted to stifle another groan. She had been hoping to finally start playing that new game she had just bought the other day. It had been getting rave reviews too! Now she was going to be kept busy for the whole of the next month, no thanks to Peppermint's nosiness.

Pekoe raised an eyebrow. "What was that, Oolong-san?"

"Nothing, Pekoe-sama. May we be excused now?"

Pekoe nodded, and the two first-years fled the room. Sighing, Pekoe soon followed. She had a lot of planning to do.

* * *

Ruhuna was kept very busy over the next few weeks. Orange Pekoe was gentle, but relentless in her training. How to pour tea elegantly, how to make polite conversation, the proper way to invite guests — Ruhuna would master how to do all this and more under Pekoe's able guidance, assisted by Oolong and Peppermint.

Well, that had been the plan, at least. Ruhuna was a quick learner, but her constant second-guessing of her own actions did her no favours. Pekoe had to constantly remind her that yes, it was fine to make mistakes while learning, and that she wasn't about to give up on her so soon.

Today, she was attempting to teach Ruhuna how to properly make small talk, all while pouring tea for others. Unfortunately, Ruhuna's nerves meant that she couldn't manage both at the same time, either pouring the tea in total silence while staring at the teapot, or babbling away and letting the teacup overflow. Pekoe wasn't quite as obsessed with tea as Darjeeling, but she still had to consciously refrain from wincing after the fifth time in a row Ruhuna had let the tea spill.

"No, no, Ruhuna-san. You need to focus a bit more on the cup when you're pouring. Now, let's try it again."

Ruhuna hung her head as she mopped up the spilled tea. "I'm just not cut out for this, Pekoe-sama!"

"Nonsense," Pekoe said firmly. "I have full confidence in you, Ruhuna-san."

"If you say so, Pekoe-sama," Ruhuna mumbled.

Off to the side, Oolong and Peppermint exchanged a look, moving slightly away from Pekoe and Ruhuna so they could speak unheard.

"You know, Oolong, I really do feel bad for Ruhuna-san now. Yes, I know we've never actually done anything to her, but we did leave her completely to herself all this while. I don't think she has a single friend in class. If it wasn't for senshadou, I don't think I'd even have spoken to her. And now that we've been spending a bit more time with her, she really is a sweet girl, isn't she? It's a shame she's so shy and nervous."

Oolong tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I agree, but what can we do about it? We're already helping Pekoe-sama to train her in etiquette, and it's not exactly been a raging success."

Peppermint's eyes were gleaming. "Don't worry, Oolong! I have an idea."

"Your last 'idea' didn't work out too well, you know," Oolong pointed out in a long-suffering voice.

"It'll be fine, Oolong! Stop being such a wet blanket. Besides, what could possibly go wrong?"

* * *

Ruhuna sighed as she trudged back to her dorm room, after yet another unproductive training session with Orange Pekoe. She honestly didn't know how Pekoe-sama was able to stand it, trying to teach a dunce like herself how to be elegant and cultured. It was like trying to get a Maus to cross a wooden bridge without breaking it — all but doomed to failure.

Maybe she should just quit the team. It would be better than being thrown out once everyone realised how inept she was at everything except driving a tank. Oh sure, Pekoe-sama had promised otherwise, but she was only one person. No matter how close she was to Darjeeling-sama, Pekoe-sama couldn't go against the rest of the team and the Tea Garden by herself, not to mention the school alumni. She might have been a first-year, but even she knew how much St. Gloriana's prized its traditions, and Ruhuna was pretty sure that the way she was bringing shame upon the school broke at least three-quarters of them.

Yes, quitting was the best option she had. She could quietly tell Pekoe-sama about it tomorrow, and then she wouldn't have to worry about any of this ever again. She could go back to a quiet, obscure life, and not have to deal with all this attention and expectations. She'd never have to see the...tanks...again...?

Ruhuna paused as the implications of quitting the team sank in. True, she would be free of any expectations, but she'd never again get to sit in the driver's seat of her beloved Churchill again. She'd never again listen to the rumble of the engine as it started, more soothing than a kitten's purr. She'd never again hear the grind of the gears, or feel the gentle shudder of the tank as she eased the Churchill into a turn. Ruhuna had driven other tanks before, but the Churchill...something about it just spoke to her. It was silly, considering she had only been driving it for less than four months, but she already felt as if she couldn't give it up.

With a start, Ruhuna also realised that she'd even miss her other crewmembers, intimidated as she was by them. Darjeeling-sama, the epitome of what it meant to be a St. Gloriana's girl, and the person whom Ruhuna, in her heart of hearts, wanted to be like. Assam-sama's quiet but steady presence, calming in its own way. And Pekoe-sama, of course. Ruhuna couldn't remember the last time someone had taken so much trouble over her worthless self. She couldn't possibly disappoint Pekoe-sama by quitting. Then again, wasn't she disappointing Pekoe-sama and the others now? Argh, why was life so difficult?!

Ruhuna's muddled thoughts came to a halt as she caught sight of something unexpected. Wasn't that the tank hangar? How had she ended up here?! The dorms were in the opposite direction! Had she really been that distracted?

Looking at the hangar and the adjacent practice grounds, Ruhuna felt a wave of mixed emotions run through her. She had put the Churchill through its paces there for the first time, under the watchful eye of Darjeeling-sama. She had been so happy when Darjeeling-sama smiled and nodded at her after she got out, telling Pekoe-sama that she, Ruhuna, looked like she would be a fine driver for their tank. Senshadou had not been very popular in her middle school, and there certainly hadn't been anyone who actually praised her for showing any skill in it.

She moved towards the hangar, half lost in memory. If she was going to quit, she wanted to see the Churchill one last time and say goodbye to it. It was no less than it deserved.

As Ruhuna arrived at the door, she realised that she could actually hear what sounded like voices from within the hangar. Was it just her imagination? There wasn't supposed to be anyone in there right now, especially since practice wasn't scheduled till tomorrow, and maintenance had been finished yesterday.

She carefully pushed open the door, wincing as the hinges squealed in protest. It apparently had been a while since they were oiled. Finally, the entrance yawned open, revealing the dark, cavernous hangar. St. Gloriana's senshadou team didn't exactly lack for funding, and the hangar easily held all of the school's tanks and assorted support vehicles with room to spare.

Ruhuna's ears pricked up. Those sounds she had heard were definitely voices. So there was someone, no, _several_ someones inside the hangar. From the sounds of it, they were arguing, though it was impossible to tell just what they were arguing about. Ruhuna bit her lip, unsure as to what to do now. She really should see what was going on, but it sounded like they were really angry! She didn't want to get involved in something which got people that worked up. Even as she dithered, snatches of conversation drifted over, interspersed with clanging and banging.

"Hurry up, you slowpoke!"

"I'm hurrying as much as I can! You try poking around the guts of a tank without light while trying to stay quiet! See how long it takes you!"

"Well, if it takes you any longer, someone's gonna come in and find their precious tanks in pieces, and that's not going to end well for us!"

That clinched it. It sounded like they were doing something to the tanks! Even if she was a failure of a St. Gloriana's student, she couldn't just stand by and let them sabotage the tanks. Trying her best to look intimidating, Ruhuna marched forward into the hangar, flicking on the lights as she did so.

"H-hey! W-who's there? This facility is for use of the se-senshadou team only!"

The apparent intruders immediately fell silent, or at least quiet enough that Ruhuna couldn't hear them any longer. Nevertheless, she steeled herself and headed towards the section of the hangar the sounds had been coming from, which happened to be the section where the Crusaders were parked.

When she got there, she immediately noticed that a couple of Crusaders had been tampered with. Their hatches were open, and one had its engine exposed. Various parts and tools were scattered around as well. A nearby side door was left half-open as well. The intruders must have fled through there when they heard her coming.

Ruhuna inspected the tanks with growing dread, which was soon replaced by relief when she realised that no serious damage appeared to have been done. Apparently she had come just in the nick of time. Nearly sagging in relief, she pulled the side door shut and locked it carefully. She had better inform Darjeeling-sama about this right quick. While nothing had happened this time, security for the hangar needed to be tightened to prevent any repeats. In a way, Ruhuna was glad this had happened. At least her last act as a member of the senshadou team would be something that helped the team.

* * *

As Ruhuna's footsteps faded away, Oolong and Peppermint, hiding inside another Crusader shared a silent grin. It had been a bit of a scramble to get to the hangar when they had seen Ruhuna heading there. They'd been lucky that they had managed to get ahead of her, and even luckier when Ruhuna had actually decided to enter the hangar upon hearing voices from inside. That said, the plan seemed to be working perfectly so far, even if it was ahead of schedule. Anyone should get a major boost to their confidence after chasing off dastardly saboteurs, right?

Now if all went properly, Ruhuna should go and report the incident to Darjeeling-sama, then Darjeeling-sama would praise her, raising her confidence even more! With her confidence boosted, Ruhuna would then be able to absorb Pekoe's lessons, and then successfully host the tea party. It was a masterpiece of a plan, even if Peppermint was too modest to say so herself. In her opinion, the best part had been that staged argument. It had been a little tricky changing their voices to prevent Ruhuna from recognising them, but obviously all that time in her middle school's drama club had paid off. That voice changer gadget Oolong had scrounged up had helped too, of course.

The sound of the main doors slamming shut echoed through the hangar. Oolong took that as her cue to scramble out of the Crusader and hop to the ground.

"Peppermint, let's get out of here. I doubt anyone's coming, but best that we make ourselves scarce quickly. You've got the key to the side door, right?"

Peppermint nodded as she emerged from the hatch.

"Yeah, I've got it right here, see — whoops!"

Oolong stifled a groan, face clearly betraying her exasperation.

"Oh, for crying out loud, Peppermint! What on earth possessed you to drop the key into the tank?! Where's it gone now?"

"Don't worry, it's here somewhere! Give me a sec, I'll find it."

On that reassuring note, Peppermint disappeared back into the Crusader. Oolong simply let out a long-suffering sigh.

After a couple of minutes had passed without Peppermint's reappearance, Oolong climbed back up onto the tank, poking her head into the Crusader.

"Peppermint! Have you found it yet?"

"I see it, but it's wedged in really deep! It's practically rolled into the driver's compartment! Hold on, I've nearly got it...ow! Stupid sticking out button! Why'd they put it at head level? Anyway, I've gotten it, Oolong!

"Good, now let's — Peppermint, why has the tank's engine just turned on?"

Before Peppermint could respond, the Crusader lurched forward suddenly. Caught completely off guard, Oolong overbalanced and toppled into the tank, right onto Peppermint.

"Oww! Get off me, Oolong, you oaf! I think I've sprained my ankle! You're going to have to help me get out!"

With no response, Peppermint squirmed about till she could see Oolong, who was...sleeping? Her eyes were closed, at least.

"Hey, now's not the time to play dead! Can you hear me, Oolong? Oolong? Oolong?! Are you alright? Wake up!"

Peppermint was starting to panic. Oolong appeared to be out cold. Did she hit her head on something? At least she was still breathing, though. Peppermint wriggled out from under Oolong's unconscious body as best as she could, cursing several times as she hit multiple awkward corners and protruding parts. Finally, she managed to extricate most of herself, though with plenty of bruises to show for it. Her ankle was starting to throb painfully and swell, but Peppermint thought she could probably get out of the tank — if she was very careful about it — in order to get someone to help the two of them.

...Wait, was the tank moving?

* * *

Ruhuna was walking away from the hangar, mind churning with the implications of what she had discovered. She'd have to go to Darjeeling-sama immediately, sabotage was no minor matter! But wait; Darjeeling-sama was probably terribly busy and wouldn't have the time to see her. Plus, she had absolutely no idea where to find Darjeeling-sama in the first place. What should she do, what should she do?!

Wait! Pekoe-sama! Didn't she mention something about heading to the senior common room after she was done with Ruhuna's training? Yes, surely Pekoe-sama would know what to do.

With her mind made up, Ruhuna turned towards the Tea Garden building, a short distance away. She had only made it halfway there before one of the walls of the tank hangar exploded and the Crusader shot out at full speed onto the adjacent practice ground.

* * *

Rooibos, the driver of Rukuriri's Matilda II, had been having a wonderful time at the newest cafe to open aboard the ship. True, it might have been a bit of a walk from the school, but their eclairs and scones were exquisite, and she couldn't find the words to describe the wonder that was the shop's chocolate parfait. She was savouring the last spoonful of bliss-inducing chocolate and wondering if she had room for just one more plate of eclairs, when her phone began buzzing.

Glancing at the caller ID, Rooibos smothered a momentary flash of irritation before answering. If this was yet _another_ attempt by Peppermint to get her involved in some crackpot spy scheme, she was going to make the girl regret it. Who did she think she was, James Bond? Honestly, Oolong let that girl get away with far too much.

"Hello?"

"Rooibos? Help! I've sprained my ankle and Oolong isn't waking up and we're stuck inside the Crusader and it's running by itself and it won't stop!"

"Peppermint? Is that you?! What's happening?"

"We're stuck inside a Crusader that's running wild! Just get help! I think the tank is on Practice Ground One, I'm not too sure!"

"Just hang on, Peppermint, help's on the way!"

Rooibos ended the call and began dialing Darjeeling's number, only to get no response. She tried Assam's number instead, with the same result. Next, she called Pekoe, who answered on the third ring.

"Pekoe-sama? Is that you?"

"Yes, speaking. Is something the matter, Rooibos-san?"

"Oh, thank goodness you picked up the call, Pekoe-sama! There's an uncontrolled tank running wild on Practice Ground One, and Peppermint and Oolong are trapped inside, apparently. I've tried contacting Darjeeling-sama and Assam-sama already, but they didn't respond. What should I do?!"

"Where are you now?"

"About 20 minutes from the school, 15 if I hurry."

"In that case, get back as quickly as you can, and try and find and notify Darjeeling-sama. I'm in the Tea Garden building, so I'll make my way down to assess the situation before we do anything else."

"Y-yes, Pekoe-sama!"

Rooibos ended the call and sprang up from the table, pausing only to throw a couple thousand yen down before breaking for the door. It looked like it was going to be one of _those_ days.

* * *

Down at Practice Ground One, Pekoe had joined a rapidly growing crowd of girls who were gawking at the Crusader tearing around in zig-zags.

"That's the experimental Crusader! The one we were tinkering with!"

Rosehip's voice was unmistakable, even over the din. Suppressing a sigh, Pekoe shoved her way through the crowd as the hubbub grew louder. Eventually, she reached Rosehip, who was standing a little way off from most of the crowd with her fellow Crusader commanders, Vanilla and Cranberry. Her expression was an interesting mix of envy, excitement, and horror as she watched the Crusader zoom about.

"Define 'tinkering', Rosehip-san." Pekoe's tone was as soft and polite as ever. It could also have frozen boiling water.

Upon seeing Pekoe, Rosehip let out a squawk, then turned as red as her hair.

"Umm...we...we...wemighthavetakenoutthelimitersandthebrakes!"

"I'm sorry, I must have misheard. I could have sworn you said you took out both the limiters and the brakes."

"...we did."

"And just why, pray tell, were the brakes removed?"

"It was only supposed to be temporary! We were going to put in a new set that could actually stand up to the new top speed! We didn't actually think anyone was going to go inside before we were done!"

Pekoe took a deep breath and counted to ten before she trusted herself to speak again.

"Be that as it may be, how did the engine even get started? It shouldn't have been possible."

"Welllll...we might also have been tinkering about with a new quick-start system for the engine?"

Pekoe simply dropped her face into her hands, as the crowd of students continued to grow larger and louder.

"The tank! It's gonna hit something!"

"Is that smoke?! The engine's gonna blow, isn't it?"

"What do we do, what do we do?"

"Where's Darjeeling-sama?"

"Aren't the recovery vehicles all undergoing maintenance this week?!"

"What if the tank comes over here and runs us all over?!"

That last one got the crowd particularly nervous, and the girls in the front started trying to move backwards, but the number of people had grown too large to make that easy. The crowd was getting more than a little panicky, and Pekoe knew she had to nip it in the bud before anything happened.

"Calm down, everyone, calm down! We are St. Gloriana's girls, and we will act like it, instead of behaving like the sky is about to fall down!" Pekoe's shout could barely be heard above the noise of the crowd, but the hubbub did began to diminish and the crush eased slightly.

"— Or like an Anzio student who just learned that dinner was cancelled," Cranberry added _sotto voce_ to her companions.

Vanilla snickered at that, while Rosehip broke into a full-out laugh before subsiding sheepishly at Pekoe's glare.

" _Not the time, Cranberry-san!_ " Pekoe hissed as her thoughts whirled. This wasn't looking too good. Darjeeling-sama and Assam-sama were probably having classes, and she was apparently the most senior member of the senshadou team around. Well, the most responsible one, at least. Something had to be done, but what?

* * *

Ruhuna huddled miserably in the middle of the crowd, half wondering if she should try and slip away quietly. She could have done it earlier, before anyone else had shown up, but nooo, she had to stand around and stare like an idiot at the Crusader tearing up the training field! It was too late now; the crowd had swelled immensely, and trying to push her way out would almost certainly take forever, as well as draw attention to her that she really didn't want.

Just then, the Crusader's engine went up in flames, accompanied by a loud bang which almost drowned out the shrieks from the crowd. The right track snapped as well, sending the tank into a violent swerve, directly into the large canal which bisected the practice ground. Thankfully, it hadn't rained for the past week, and the canal was dry. Unfortunately, this _also_ meant that the engine fire was still burning. The carbon coating in the crew compartments would keep the two girls inside safe for now, but even it couldn't hold out forever.

Ruhuna glanced about, desperately hoping to see Darjeeling-sama or Assam-sama appear, hopefully followed by a miracle, but all she saw were girls looking worried, or ashen-faced and tense. Even Rosehip-sama and her friends were looking serious for once, while Pekoe-sama was biting her lip and glancing around, looking very troubled. Wait, had she seen her? She had! And now she was coming over! This was a disaster! Well, it already was one, but now, it was an even bigger one!

* * *

Pekoe's thoughts were racing frantically as she considered her options. The fire needed to be put out quickly so Peppermint and Oolong could be gotten out safely, but the sides of the canal was too steep for anyone to go down directly without risk of injury, and the maintenance stairs were too far away to be able to get there in time. The recovery vehicles could have gone down or winched out the tank, but they were all undergoing maintenance. She could try and get another tank down there, but it would end up trapped there as well. There didn't seem to be be any good options at the moment.

Pekoe glanced about, trying to take in the mood of the crowd and whether she'd have to evacuate the rest before trying to rescue the two girls, when her eye fell on a familiar face in the middle of the crowd. Wasn't that Ruhuna?

Wait.

Ruhuna was there. Ruhuna, the driver of the Churchill tank.

The Churchill. Of course! The Churchill should be able to handle a climb of even that angle, though it would be a tricky thing. Getting Ruhuna to help might be difficult though, judging by the look on her face. She was looking absolutely miserable, though Pekoe had no idea why that was so. Persuading her to help wouldn't be easy; but then again, nothing worth doing ever was. A quote from Roosevelt, if she wasn't mistaken? Pekoe sighed internally as she squeezed through the crowd. She'd been spending too much time with Darjeeling.

* * *

Ruhuna was on the verge of panicking as Pekoe arrived. What did she want? Was she in trouble? It was a Crusader in the ditch, right? It must have been the fault of those saboteurs! Ruhuna had failed again! She had discovered them, but hadn't reported them in time. Why was she such a screw-up?!

"P-pekoe-sama! Is there s-something you need?"

"Ruhuna-san, please come with me."

Without even waiting for an answer, Pekoe took hold of Ruhuna's hand, and firmly, but gently, pulled her away from the crowd. Ruhuna, surprisingly, put up no resistance at all. Once they were clear of the rest, Pekoe turned to her junior. Ruhuna winced, bracing herself internally.

"Ruhuna-san, I apologise, but I need your help. The only thing that could possibly rescue Peppermint-san and Rooibos-san before something serious happens is the Churchill, and you're the best driver we have. Please, we need you."

Ruhuna let out a small "Eep", even as her hands flew to her mouth. What! It was Peppermint-san and Rooibos-san in the tank?! How had that happened?

"Peppermint-san and Rooibos-san...are in the Crusader? What? How? What's going on, Pekoe-sama?"

Pekoe's face betrayed her frustration, even as one hand massaged her temple. "I'm afraid your guess is as good as mine, Ruhuna-san. Nonetheless, we can worry about that later. Please, can you help?"

Ruhuna stood there, paralyzed by doubt and indecision, but only for a moment. She hadn't been too close to them before, but she had been getting to know Peppermint and Oolong these past few weeks of training with Pekoe, and found to her surprise that she quite enjoyed spending time with them. These days, they always made sure to include her in their conversations in class, or invited her out for snacks after training. It had been...nice. The thought of something happening to them because she didn't do anything was unbearable.

Ruhuna clenched her fists, before looking directly at Pekoe. "I'll d-do it, Pekoe-sama!"

Pekoe smiled, partly in relief and partly in joy. "Wonderful. Now come on, there's not much time to waste."

She turned to where the three Crusader commanders were trying not to eavesdrop too obviously. "Vanilla-san, Cranberry-san, I'll need the two of you to go with Ruhuna, as you know the Crusader's interior better than me, and bring a fire extinguisher. Rosehip-san, I need you to get the Humber ready, and be on standby to rush the girls to the hospital if necessary. Let's go!"

"But what about you, Pekoe-sama? Won't you be coming with us?"

"Much as I would like to, I'm afraid I need to contact the school authorities, as the most senior member of the senshadou team present. I believe Darjeeling-sama and Assam-sama are both at their classes at the moment, so the task falls to me instead."

Seeing Ruhuna's wavering face, Pekoe fixed her gaze on her.

"You can do it, Ruhuna-san. I believe in you. After all, I've been training you in elegance all these weeks, haven't I? Remember what Darjeeling-sama told us all at the start of the term."

Ruhuna still didn't quite get it, but Cranberry had already grabbed her and started hustling her towards the tank hangar. She followed Vanilla and Cranberry as quickly as she could, even while she mulled over Pekoe's words.

Elegance? What did elegance have to do with all this? She could drive a tank well enough, but now more was at stake than just the outcome of a match! How would all that etiquette and elegance training help her?

What exactly was Pekoe-sama referring to anyway? Darjeeling-sama's speech at the start of the term? She wracked her memory, even as they entered the tank hangar, then suddenly it all came back in a flash.

* * *

"Now that you have been accepted into the senshadou team and the Tea Garden, always remember that elegance is at the heart of St. Gloriana's senshadou, and you are to continually strive towards that elegance at all times."

It had been the first time Ruhuna had seen Darjeeling since she had been accepted into the Tea Garden. As she spoke, her poise, confidence, and yes, elegance all made her seem the perfect exemplar of what a St. Gloriana's girl should be. At that moment, Ruhuna had wanted nothing more than to be like her. However, another first-year, with considerably more boldness and much less awe had piped up as Darjeeling finished speaking.

"But Darjeeling-sama, _what_ is elegance?"

Darjeeling had simply smiled. "Have you heard this saying? "Elegance is something more than ease; it is more than a freedom from awkwardness or restraint. It implies, I conceive, a precision, a polish, a sparkling, spirited yet delicate."

Behind her, Orange Pekoe added softly, "That's from the British writer, William Hazlitt."

"Huh?"

Darjeeling continued speaking. "Indeed, it is also said, 'Self-command is the main elegance' and I have always found that to be true. Elegance is the heart of senshadou, but senshadou is not only practiced in a tank. Constantly keep these things in mind, and you will always be elegant members of St. Gloriana's."

* * *

At the time, Ruhuna hadn't quite understood Darjeeling-sama (not that most people had, to tell the truth) and had simply let it slip by. But now, after all that time training with Pekoe-sama, she thought she understood. To be able to control one's self, to do everything with poise and self-control — that was the true elegance that St. Gloriana's sought. Whether it was shown in senshadou, or in social events, or the rest of life was immaterial.

Even as she climbed into the driver's compartment of the Churchill and began going through the familiar motions of starting up the tank, Ruhuna's mind was miles away as she pondered Pekoe's and Darjeeling's words. Did that mean even _she_ was elegant? She had just begun driving out of the hangar, still somewhat lost in thought, when she was jolted back to the present by the crackle of her intercom. It was Cranberry in the turret.

"Ruhuna-san, you're the one with the most experience with the Churchill here, so you're going to have to take the lead on this. Ruhuna-san? Are you there?"

"Ah, s-sorry about that. I was distracted. A-are you sure about this, Cranberry-sama? You're more senior, after all."

Cranberry snorted. "Yeah, but I've also never been in the Churchill before this. I have no idea of its capabilities, and neither does Vanilla. You, on the other hand, are the best driver Darjeeling-taichou has ever had. She _never_ stops mentioning it whenever we have team meetings. So yes, I'm quite sure."

Ruhuna tried to hide a blush, even though she knew neither of the two girls in the turret could see her. "If you say so, Cranberry-sama."

Well then. If Darjeeling-sama and Pekoe-sama believed in her, then who was she to gainsay them? With a smile on her lips that she didn't realise was there, Ruhuna gunned the Churchill's engine and set a course for the stricken Crusader.

* * *

As they reached the canal, Ruhuna slowed the Churchill almost to a stop, before gently easing it over the edge of the canal. There was a large pipe sticking out at that spot, which should both break the drop on the way down, as well as serve as a ramp when the time came to go up.

"Cranberry-sama, Vanilla-sama, please brace yourselves. The Churchill is going down now."

"Noted, Ruhuna-san — Whoa!"

The shock of landing nearly jolted Ruhuna out of her seat. She used all her considerable skill to try and minimise the impact, but the suspension still let out a groan of protest. Slowly, she moved the Churchill off the drainpipe and onto the floor of the canal proper, before driving as close to the Crusader as she dared.

The intercom crackled again. "Ruhuna-san, Pekoe-sama has contacted us to let us know that the hospital is ready and waiting, and so is Rosehip in the Humber."

"Understood, Cranberry-sama. We're as close to the Crusader as I can bring us right now, so I think you're good to go and rescue Peppermint-san and Oolong-san."

"Got it. Let's go, Vanilla!"

As the hatch opened, Ruhuna peered through the vision slots. She soon saw Cranberry and Vanilla climb into the burning tank, then emerge minutes later with Peppermint and Oolong. Both of them looked unconscious, and Peppermint had a nasty cut on her forehead, but one which thankfully looked to have stopped bleeding. Cranberry and Vanilla carefully carried the two girls down, then back to the Churchill one by one. After they were carefully brought into the turret, Vanilla and Cranberry hopped in after them.

"Ruhuna-san! We should go, the fire's too strong for us to put it out with our extinguisher! We need to get these girls to the hospital as soon as possible, just in case."

"Roger!" With that, Ruhuna carefully turned the Churchill around, then gunned the engine. Getting up on the pipe was easy, but getting from the pipe to the top of the canal proved to be a trickier task. Ruhuna tried several times, but the angle was just too steep.

Panting, Ruhuna wiped her sweaty hands on her blouse and took a deep breath. Calm down, Ruhuna. It wasn't a big deal. She'd done climbs like this before, though not as steep. She could do it.

Right. Calm. Patience. Elegance. She gunned the engine one more time, but the Churchill stubbornly refused to move forward. In fact, she could feel it rolling backwards a little.

Breathing heavily, Ruhuna leaned on the controls. Why had she ever agreed to do this! This was hopeless! She was hopeless! She was going to end up toppling the Churchill into the canal, and then they'd all be in even worse trouble. She should just give up now and avoid making things worse...

A small voice at the back of her head (which sounded like Orange Pekoe, for some reason) whispered _No, you aren't hopeless. All of them believe in you, now you need to believe in yourself. You are already as elegant and skilled as you will ever need to be._

Right. She couldn't give up. Peppermint-san and Oolong-san were depending on her in order to be rescued. Darjeeling-sama and Pekoe-sama had taken a chance on her as well, and disappointing _them_ was right out.

"Cranberry-san, Vanilla-san, secure Peppermint-san and Oolong-san, then hold on tight!"

Face resolute, Ruhuna stepped on the accelerator once more. The Churchill's engine roared, as the tank strained upwards once more.

 _Almost...there..._

Putting forth all her skill, Ruhuna squeezed more power than she'd ever thought possible out of the Bedford engine, and ever so slowly, tracks screeching, the Churchill clambered out of the canal at a nearly vertical angle. Gravity soon reasserted itself, and the front of the Churchill slammed back onto the ground with a resounding thump, as well as the less welcome sound of something in the Churchill's tracks giving way with a groan.

As her heart slowly settled down to a less frantic tempo, Ruhuna's only thought was that the mechanics were going to kill her for what she'd probably done to the Churchill's suspension.

* * *

Pekoe was currently enduring a very stressful phone call with the headmistress of St. Gloriana's at the moment, who was not pleased at all about the situation. Darjeeling would have had the headmistress wrapped around her little finger in no time, but whatever skill allowed her to do that was something Pekoe hadn't managed to pick up yet.

"Yes, headmistress. I understand. Yes, we will launch an investigation into the circumstances as soon as possible."

Out of the corner of her eye, Pekoe saw Rukuriri signalling frantically at her, but before she could excuse herself to find out what was the matter, the sound of the Churchill hitting the ground and the cheering that began almost immediately after told her the whole story.

"My humblest apologies, headmistress, but it appears that I am needed right now. I'll be sure to keep you updated on the latest developments. Please excuse me."

Pekoe hung up and began making her way to the canal as quickly as she could with a slightly lighter heart. After this chaos was finally over, she was going to lock the door, then relax in the onsen alone and undisturbed for at least a couple of hours and let the world deal with itself for a change. She'd earned that much, at the very least.

* * *

Before the Churchill's engine had even been turned off, Rosehip in the Humber had pulled up next to it, while Cranberry and Vanilla carefully carried the two unconscious girls out of the turret. Once Peppermint and Oolong were loaded up and secured in the back, Rosehip sped off to the hospital, only barely keeping within the speed limits. A pair of Red Cross members rustled up earlier by Rukuriri rode along to keep an eye on them, although their condition didn't look too serious.

Back at the Churchill, Ruhuna emerged from the driver's hatch and climbed down to the ground slowly. She would have dismounted faster, but her legs were wobbling too badly to let her. The adrenaline had worn off, and now she felt like she could do nothing else other than collapse into her bed and lie there for the next couple of days.

The noise she was greeted with when she reached the ground was completely unexpected, though. Almost the entire senshadou team and even more curious onlookers had managed to show up while the rescue was taking place, and the crowd had swelled even further. All of them were cheering and shouting her name. They were cheering for _her_!

"Three cheers for Ruhuna! Three cheers for Ruhuna, St. Gloriana's best driver!" Rooibos yelled at the top of her voice. The crowd was more than happy to comply.

Before Ruhuna could react, they surged forward and lifted her into the air. The senshadou team hoisted Ruhuna onto their shoulders and paraded her around Practice Ground One, chanting her name repeatedly. The rest of the crowd followed, continuing their cheering. Ruhuna herself found tears coursing down her cheeks, but she didn't care at all. She finally felt like she was one of the team.

Finally, they placed Ruhuna down, and Cranberry motioned for silence, though without much success. Ruhuna's sniffles finally slowed, though her smile was broader than ever.

"E-Everyone in the senshadou team! I'll be hosting a tea party tomorrow, for the whole team! Please come! Thank you all!" she choked out, bowing deeply.

The cheers of the crowd had been loud before, but now they shouted and whistled and stamped loud enough to wake the dead. The celebration lasted for a while more (with spontaneous cheers breaking out every now and then), but eventually the crowd began dispersing, especially since most of the excitement was over. The senshadou team lingered the longest, alternating between thanking Ruhuna and making sure she knew she'd never have to pay at any cafe session from here on out (Rukuriri was particularly adamant about that part); but eventually they too took their leave.

Once the rest of the team had finally drifted off, Ruhuna sought out Pekoe, who had been watching from the side quietly, proud smile on her face.

"Pekoe-sama! Thank you so much! I could never have done it without you!"

Pekoe shook her head, still smiling. "You always had the potential, Ruhuna-san. I merely assisted you in allowing it to blossom."

"Even so, thank you! I'll never forget it! How can I ever repay you?"

Pekoe beamed. "Just put all you have into anything you do, and do it with elegance. That is St. Gloriana's senshadou, after all."

* * *

From a balcony on the third floor of the Tea Garden's building, Darjeeling had been watching the impromptu parade through a set of field glasses, while Assam stood behind her. Finally, she turned and walked back into the room, putting aside the field glasses and sitting down at the table, where a full teapot and two cups were waiting. Assam soon joined her, filling Darjeeling's cup and then her own before sitting down.

"Well, Assam, all's well that ends well, as the English say. I do wonder if your data could have predicted this particular series of events, though?"

"Not likely! I'm just thankful no one was hurt badly. As it is, only the Crusader is a write-off, and even then I'm pretty sure that we can repair it quickly enough."

"Indeed. I didn't expect those two first-years to get involved so...dramatically, even if I did happen to mention in front of them that Ruhuna might feel more confident if she could do something to impress me. Pekoe managed the situation magnificently, though, especially when we were indisposed."

Assam nodded, taking a sip of the tea. "Your little test somehow managed to blow up into something bigger, Darjeeling. It was Pekoe's leadership that managed to keep things from escalating even more, especially since we were in classes until just now."

"I must admit, I did feel quite concerned when I checked my phone and saw all the missed calls and the messages. The minute I read that Peppermint and Oolong were involved, I realised what must have happened. If I hadn't seen Pekoe's final message saying that the crisis had been resolved, I would have rushed down there immediately."

Assam took another, longer sip. "What's more, the girls could never have been gotten out in time if it hadn't been for Ruhuna being there and Pekoe persuading her to help. In my opinion — "

A beep from Assam's phone signalled the arrival of yet another text. Assam glanced down, then looked back at Darjeeling with a smile.

"Cranberry's just texted me. Ruhuna's going to be hosting a tea party for the senshadou team tomorrow, she just announced it to the whole crowd. So, as I was saying, Pekoe's more than passed this first test of yours, even if it did end up being way more dramatic than it had to be."

Darjeeling smiled, lifting her teacup in salute. "So she has, so she has. It appears that Pekoe'll have no problems managing the morale and cohesion of the team, and being a leader in times of crisis. There's a lot more to being a commander, but she's off to an excellent start. To Pekoe!"

Assam echoed Darjeeling's toast, and the two of them drained their teacups.

* * *

A/N:

Ruhuna is apparently Darjeeling's canon driver, but absolutely nothing else is known about her. She doesn't even have an illustration, unlike Earl Grey (commander of St. Gloriana's the year before Darjeeling). She's practically an OC in all but name, so I took the liberty of making her an insanely talented but extremely insecure first-year.

Peppermint and Oolong were initially just background extras, but they grew on me as the chapter expanded, which resulted in their much-enlarged role.

Writing Darjeeling is fun, but digging up suitable quotes for her can be a challenge. Still pretty fun though.


	3. Pekoe and the Pasta

It was a bright and sunny morning at St. Gloriana's, and Orange Pekoe was looking forward to a nice, peaceful day for once. Classes were over for the week, and the senshadou team was on break as well. It looked like she could afford to spend the rest of the morning sitting under a particularly shady tree, reading some poetry and relaxing. She might even take a nap, if she felt like it.

After a bit of time hunting for a good spot, Pekoe had found the perfect one on a small hill overlooking St. Gloriana's lake, only a short distance from the school proper. It was shaded by a towering oak, and had just the right amount of soft, yet springy grass growing so as to make it a delight to sit on. She carefully spread out her mat, placed her thermos of tea beside her, then settled down with a volume of Yeats's poems (she'd heard good things about him, and was eager to see just what the fuss was all about). She had just flipped open the front cover when the stillness was broken by the loud blast of a foghorn.

Huh. Another ship must be passing by. It was a common enough occurrence, especially if the school ship was sailing closer to land. Pekoe turned back to her reading, but she barely managed to select a poem and turn to it before another two horn blasts came. Wasn't that the signal that a ship was docking to transfer passengers? Who was visiting?

Well, whoever it was, she wasn't going to worry too much about them. Today was going to be a quiet, uneventful day, if Pekoe had anything to say about it. Now, where was she? Ah yes, 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree'. A suitably peaceful-sounding title. She could feel her blood pressure dropping already.

Ten minutes later, Pekoe had managed to finish the poem. Thankfully, the language used hadn't been too difficult. She enjoyed English classes, but trying to make sense of poetry in another language was always a challenge. Apparently, the one time the teacher had tried to introduce Shakespeare to the current third-year class, back when they had been second years, had been...interesting. Darjeeling-sama and Assam-sama refused to go into any detail, no matter how often she pressed them about it. The most she'd gotten was a shudder from Assam-sama and an emphatic statement from Darjeeling-sama that some things were better off forgotten. Nevertheless, she'd quite enjoyed this Yeats fellow so far. Perhaps another poem, and then a nice nap?

"Oraaangeeee Pekoeeee-saannnnn! Oraaangeeee Pekoeee-saaannnn!"

Oh, for crying out loud. What did Rosehip want now?

"Orange Pekoe-san!" Rosehip, audibly panting, was running at full tilt towards Pekoe. For her to look that out of breath, Rosehip must have run at top speed across at least half the ship.

Sighing, Pekoe slipped a bookmark into her book and rose, just as Rosehip came to a stop in front of her, hands on knees and puffing harder than a train leaving the station.

"Yes, Rosehip-san? What's the matter?"

Rosehip took a deep breath and stood up straight again. "Pekoe-san! We've got visitors, and they're asking for either you or Darjeeling-sama! Darjeeling-sama's out riding at the moment, so I went to look for you. Luckily, I passed Jasmine-san on the way, and she knew where you were!"

"Visitors? Who are they?"

"It's Anzio!"

* * *

Pekoe had made her way over with Rosehip to the courtyard in front of the Tea Garden building, where what looked like half of Anzio's student body was gathered. Anchovy was standing in front of them, gesticulating wildly with that riding crop of hers. Was she giving a speech?

"Rosehip-san, when you said Anzio was here, I didn't think you meant that _literally_. It looks like their entire school is here!"

"Hey now! It's just the senshadou team! There's not that many of us!" Anchovy's two lieutenants had noticed Pekoe and Rosehip, and had come over to meet them at the opposite end of the square. Pepperoni, however, didn't sound too happy about Pekoe's comments.

"Well, to be fair, the tea appreciation club did ask to tag along, then the fine wine and liquors (non-alcoholic) appreciation society decided to come as well, and then _that_ led to the cheese appreciation society wanting to come over as well, and then more people got interested and...well, you can see the result for yourself." Carpaccio's expressive shrug implied that she didn't exactly have a choice in the matter.

Pekoe stared at the crowd, then turned to Carpaccio. "I'm terribly sorry, but I must admit that I have no idea why all of you are even here in the first place."

Carpaccio gestured towards Anchovy. "We'll let Duce explain that. Come along, she should be done with her speech soon."

As they pushed their way through the crowd, Anchovy's words became clearer.

"So, in conclusion, how does one become a leader?"

A pregnant pause, then Anchovy slapped her riding crop into her free hand.

"To be a leader, you must lead with passion and spirit! Your subordinates must love you, and you must honour and return that love! To be a leader in senshadou is to lead your women in tasks which seem impossible, and fill them with the conviction that it can be achieved— no, that it _will_ be achieved!"

The cheers of "Duce!" and "Nee-san!" ringing around the square appeared to indicate that the students of Anzio agreed with these ideas wholeheartedly.

As Pekoe approached Anchovy, the twin-tailed girl's face visibly brightened.

"Orange Pekoe! What a pleasure to see you! How have you been?" Anchovy grabbed Pekoe's hand and shook it enthusiastically, kissing the air either side of Pekoe's cheeks while doing so.

Gently extricating herself from Anchovy's grip, Pekoe bowed politely.

"Quite well, thank you. Welcome to St. Gloriana's, Anchovy-san. It's a pleasure to see you too." Pekoe gazed at the crowd with a slightly dubious eye, before turning back to Anchovy. "That said, I do have a few things I would like to ask you. Firstly, why the unannounced visit? Secondly, did you really have to bring _all_ those people over here?"

"Of course! What is a leader without anyone to lead? Also, they wouldn't take no for an answer when I told them I was coming over."

"What was that, Anchovy-san?"

"Nothing, nothing! Hahaha!"

Anchovy's laughter came out slightly more strained than she might have liked. As Pekoe raised her eyebrow, Carpaccio came to the rescue of her commander, smoothly sliding into the conversation.

"What Duce means is that we all came over to lend our support to her, of course. Well, most of us, at least."

That somewhat answered the second question, but not the first. What was going on?

Turning to Anchovy, Pekoe dipped in a shallow bow again. "I'm terribly sorry to repeat myself, Anchovy-san, but you still haven't answered my first question. _Why are you all here_?"

"That's right! In all that excitement, I completely forgot! I, Anchovy, Duce of Anzio Girls' High School, have come to challenge St. Gloriana's to a special senshadou match!"

"You tell her, Anchovy-neesan! Wait, we're challenging them? I thought that — Owwww!"

Whatever Pepperoni was about to say came out as a squawk of pain, as Carpaccio had stepped on her foot in the middle of her sentence. She'd put her full weight on it too, if the way Pepperoni's face was screwed up in agony was any indication.

"Whoops. My apologies, Pepperoni. Didn't see your foot there." Carpaccio's tone was totally flat.

Pekoe simply stared in disbelief at the two Anzio girls. Carpaccio returned Pekoe's gaze with a placid smile of her own, completely ignoring Pepperoni, who was hopping up and down and swearing in what sounded like bad Italian.

"Ahahahaha, Pepperoni! Your memory must really be going! Of course we're the ones who are challenging them!" Anchovy sounded confident about that, at any rate, even if her laughter seemed a little forced.

"Of course, Pepperoni. Listen to Duce. Don't you remember us _discussing_ this earlier?" Carpaccio glanced at Pekoe, before looking back at her schoolmate.

Stopping her jumping, Pepperoni looked blank for a second. Then, something dawned in her eyes and she nodded, only to start hopping about and cursing again as she remembered her foot was still hurting.

Pekoe wanted to scream. It was too early to deal with this. It was _way_ too early in the day to deal with this sort of nonsense. And where was Darjeeling-sama? She took a deep breath, willing herself to calm down.

"Couldn't you just have called us to arrange it instead?" Pekoe asked. "Why go to all the trouble of coming over? And what do you mean by 'special', anyway?"

"Oh yeah! Why didn't we do that, nee-san?" Pepperoni seemed to be back to normal again. Well, normal for her. Did nothing faze that girl? Was this what dealing with Rosehip felt like to other schools?

Anchovy spun on her heel, pointing her riding crop menacingly at Pepperoni.

"It's because you lot wouldn't shut up about wanting to see St. Gloriana's school ship, that's why! Well, now you're here, so zip it!"

Meanwhile, the other Anzio girls were getting more and more excited after Anchovy's announcement.

"We should have a feast now! A post-challenge feast!"

"Or a pre-match feast!"

"Yeah!"

"Aren't they the same thing?"

"Does it really matter?"

"All right, let's start cooking!"

"Idiots, we didn't bring any ingredients or equipment! It cost too much to get the ship to let us bring it along as cargo, especially after all of you came along!" Anchovy was rapidly losing her earlier good humour.

"Never mind, Duce! We'll go looking for some!"

"Yeah, there's bound to be some stuff in the school! Everyone's got to have the essentials, after all! Let's go, Gelato!"

"Amaretto, you're with me!"

"Si!"

"Hey, where are all of you going! Get back here!"

Pekoe and Rosehip simply stared as the horde of Anzio girls disappeared into the school buildings, completely ignoring their commander. Only Pepperoni and Carpaccio remained with Anchovy, who was visibly fuming.

Finally, Rosehip broke the silence. "Pekoe-san, what's going on?"

"I wish I knew, Rosehip-san. I wish I knew."

* * *

Anchovy was still audibly grumbling a good ten minutes later, as she and her lieutenants waited with Pekoe and Rosehip for the other Anzio students to return. Tables and chairs had been rapidly produced for the three guests, as well as tea and snacks, but Anchovy hadn't taken a single sip of tea, preferring to frown down at her cup instead, occasionally muttering under her breath.

"Anchovy-san, are you sure you don't want us to get the prefects to go out and try to round up your teammates?" Pekoe asked, brow furrowed. With Anchovy's current mood, she didn't think it was a good idea to bring up the topic of the match just yet. It could wait for a while more, or at least till the wayward students had been retrieved.

Anchovy sighed, but shook her head. "Trust me, Orange Pekoe, it's not worth the effort. They'll show up...eventually. The offer is appreciated, though." She let her head fall onto the table with a groan.

Nothing for it than to wait, then. Pekoe just hoped it wouldn't be for too long. She didn't really want to have to explain to anyone why there was a horde of foreign students ransacking the place in search of food.

At least the other two Anzio students remaining didn't seem to be affected by their commander's mood. Pepperoni was having a good-natured argument with Rosehip over who had managed to pull the most dramatic senshadou stunt in an official match, complete with sound effects and dramatic reenactments. She'd have to have another talk with Rosehip after this. It was not lady-like at _all_ to use your spoon, teacup, and a piece of cake to demonstrate how you had managed to jump your tank across a ten-metre wide ditch.

Carpaccio, on the other hand, was quietly chatting with Rukuriri, who had joined them together with Nilgiri and Vanilla. While Pekoe would never say so aloud, she was quietly grateful that at least one Anzio girl was relatively easy to deal with, compared to her schoolmates.

Suddenly, Anchovy sprang upright with a jolt. "I think I hear them coming!"

Less than a minute later, Anchovy was proved right as the Anzio students began pouring back into the square, all looking upset, appalled or both at once. The shouting began almost immediately.

"Nee-san! Can you believe it! This school doesn't have any pasta! There's only potatoes!"

"Duce! We can't find the olive oil or tomatoes, and the only cheese around is Cheddar or this moldy stuff they call Stilton! There's no Mozzarella to be had for love or money!"

"Duce, the kitchen staff was terrible! They actually chased me out when I asked for enough utensils to cook for a hundred people! It wasn't as if I asked for a huge number or anything like that!"

The hubbub was growing, as more and more complaints were shouted at Anchovy, who was attempting in vain to calm down the Anzio girls. Pekoe grimaced as the yelling continued. This didn't look too good. Maybe she should discreetly give the prefects a call, in case the Anzio students got too rowdy? Well, more rowdy than they already were, at least.

"Also, Duce, they didn't have — _Duce, what is that monstrosity_!?"

The crowd suddenly fell silent, as Pekoe whirled around to see what exactly had caused that horrified shriek.

It was... _Darjeeling-sama_!?

Still dressed in jodhpurs and riding coat, Darjeeling was calmly walking out of the Tea Garden building, carrying a platter holding something large, black, and vaguely sausage-shaped. Assam, dressed more conventionally, trailed behind with another platter.

"Monstrosity? My, what strong words. Don't you recognise black pudding?" Darjeeling was smiling broadly. "And here I thought Anzio was supposed to be the school which specialised in fine cuisine. Now, who wants to be the first to try it? I assure you that it's delightful. Not quite as good as jellied eels, of course, but almost as good! If that's a little too rich for you, Assam here has a fresh haggis! The best boiled sheep's organs and oatmeal you'll get anywhere! Nothing but the finest for our guests, of course. You'll all be partaking, yes?"

The Anzio girls were starting to turn green as Darjeeling went on. Some of the more sensitive ones were actually looking like they were about to faint. An uncomfortable silence followed for a few seconds, then Gelato spoke up.

"Duce, I just remembered that I have an urgent appointment back at our ship."

"Oh, me too!"

"Me three!"

"The passenger ship is still docked! We can make it if we hurry!"

The Anzio girls nearly trampled each other in their haste to escape, and before another minute had passed, the square was empty of anyone from Anzio, except Anchovy and her two lieutenants.

"What a shame," Darjeeling muttered as she replaced the cover on the dish. "The jellied eels and kippers were all ready, and the lamb with mint sauce and boiled peas was just about done. It took absolutely ages to get the peas properly mushy too."

Even Anchovy struggled to keep a straight face at the thought of that, while Pepperoni looked like she was about to throw up. Pekoe just sighed. Well, at least that was _one_ problem solved.

* * *

"And you're _sure_ you don't want to have a meal before our discussion, Anchovy-san? It'd be a shame to let all that food go to waste." Darjeeling was looking rather disappointed at Anchovy's lack of appetite. Behind her, Pekoe and Assam shared a look of relief.

To her credit, Anchovy did her best to suppress her flinch at the suggestion. Pepperoni, on the other hand, was not quite so polite.

"No offence, Darjeeling-neesan, but I'd rather starve."

Both Anchovy and Carpaccio looked like they couldn't decide whether to reprimand Pepperoni or thank her. In the end, Anchovy decided to split the difference, and simply changed the subject.

"So, Darjeeling! Let's get down to business. First, my thanks for putting up with my girls. They may be a bit impulsive, but they mean well."

"Please, think nothing of it. Still, I'd be happier if you would join me in a meal as well — "

Anchovy hastily cut Darjeeling off before she could say anything else. " _Moving on!_ As I mentioned to Orange Pekoe earlier, I came over to challenge St. Gloriana's to a special senshadou match!"

"Oh? Please elaborate, Anchovy-san," Darjeeling said nonchalantly. "Pekoe, be a dear and pass me a cup of tea. My throat is a veritable Sahara at the moment."

As Pekoe handed her commander a teacup, Anchovy continued speaking. "The conditions are simple. Standard flag tank rules, with a 5 on 5 match. However, the flag tank can be changed up to two times during the match!"

"Dear me. That certainly sounds innovative." Darjeeling calmly sipped at her tea, expression unreadable. "I must ask though, what prevents the flag tank from immediately being changed as soon as it's cornered or in danger?"

"If you transfer flag tank status, both the old and the new flag tank will have to be immobilised for at least five minutes. During those five minutes, if either tank is hit and judged to be knocked out, it counts as knocking out the flag tank."

Darjeeling made a hum of understanding, but Pekoe wasn't convinced. "Anchovy-san, that's all well and good, but how do you go about transferring flag tank status in the middle of the match anyway?"

"It's simple, it's simple! All tanks have the usual flag tank flag installed, but undeployed. You simply deploy it manually when you are the flag tank."

"That does sound like a rather interesting match format, Anchovy-san. Did you come up with it yourself? I don't think I've heard of it before, even from overseas senshadou leagues." Nilgiri sounded intrigued by the idea of a match format totally new to her. Considering how closely she followed both the foreign and the local senshadou scene, as well as her love of historical senshadou and tank trivia, that was hardly a surprise. She was already helping Assam with her data management, and Pekoe had heard rumours that Assam was grooming her to take over as head of GI:6 soon.

"Ah, I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it. It's a brand new format, something the European leagues have been trying out. It's supposed to promote tactical flexibility but still reward careful planning. It's been kept relatively quiet, but I have friends over there from my time doing a student exchange and they let me know about it. It's apparently going to be the next big thing, and Anzio's gonna get in on it early! We might — no, we will actually win something for once!" Anchovy tried to hide her look of glee, but wasn't very successful.

"Why come to challenge us, then?" Pekoe pressed. Something wasn't quite right about this.

"Well, when trying out a new match format, of course we'd ask St. Gloriana's! Everyone knows that you'd would fight fairly and elegantly, but also give it your all. Imagine if we asked Pravda, or even Kuromorimine. 'Gimmick' matches like this don't exactly appeal to them, and we'd only get to fight their third-raters or just be turned down flat." Well, Carpaccio certainly _sounded_ sincere, and so did Anchovy. Pekoe couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, though.

Any further thoughts were put on hold, as Anchovy clapped her hands sharply. "Well, if that's settled, could we arrange a date for the match? We've finally managed to scrape together enough money to repair our P40, since the Federation finally came through with the promised cash, and the repairs should be done in a couple of weeks. We're on a bit of a tight schedule, though. The venues are gonna be fully booked, especially as teams start training for the new season. The only one I could secure was at the end of the month, and even that cost us the rest of our budget for the season."

Darjeeling frowned, setting down her cup. "I see no problem with accepting the challenge, but I'm afraid that I'll be indisposed during that period. I have some personal business to attend to back home, unfortunately."

"Well, we can't have it any other time. Should we postpone it?" Anchovy sounded disappointed, but resigned. "It's a shame though, I was really looking forward to this match, and so was the rest of the team."

"No, no. Let me think for a second." Darjeeling looked pensive for a minute, before her expression firmed up and she looked directly at Pekoe.

"Pekoe, could I perhaps request that you take the lead in commanding this small friendly match? I can assist with team selection before I leave, but the final decisions are up to you."

"Eh? Me, Darjeeling-sama?" Pekoe was taken aback at being put on the spot like this. That nagging feeling of unease was still there as well. "I don't know..."

"You'll do fine, Pekoe. Besides, we have to uphold St. Gloriana's honour after being challenged, after all. I'm sure you'll do fine, and Assam will be here to assist."

Pepperoni chimed in. "Yeah, please say yes, Pekoe-san! Duce was planning for this for a while, and she'd be sad if it fell through!" She followed that plea with the most effective puppy-dog eyes Pekoe had seen for a while, and she had multiple younger nieces and nephews, all of whom were experts in getting their way by looking cute. Pepperoni's current expression probably beat all of them combined, though.

Pekoe heaved a sigh. "Well...alright then. I'll start drawing up the roster tomorrow, Darjeeling-sama." Her doubts were still lingering, but she shoved them to the back of her mind. That didn't mean she'd forget them, though.

"Wonderful, wonderful! In that case, we'll see you soon! I look forward to facing you on the field of battle, Orange Pekoe!" Anchovy's good cheer had immediately returned at Pekoe's agreement, and she was all smiles.

"Ah, as do I, Anchovy-san. Let's all have a good match."

Anchovy, Carpaccio, and Pepperoni soon made their excuses and left. Something about the Anzio girls possibly staging a mutiny if left to their own devices without food for too long? Pekoe hadn't quite followed the thread of the conversation. The rest of the St. Gloriana girls soon followed, and only she, Assam-sama, and Darjeeling-sama were left.

Anyway, now that everyone else was gone, she could have a frank talk with Darjeeling-sama about just what she thought she was doing, putting her on the spot like that.

"Darjeeling-sama, in the future, could I request that you not — Darjeeling-sama? Assam-sama? Where did they go?"

Throwing up her hands, Pekoe decided to go back to her dorm and take that long-postponed nap. Maybe the world would make sense again once she woke up.

* * *

"Personal business back home? Really? That was the best excuse you could come up with, Darjeeling?" Assam sounded utterly incredulous as she walked back to the third-year dorms alongside Darjeeling.

"Oh, stop worrying, Assam. Besides, it worked, didn't it? Pekoe didn't suspect a thing."

"Admit it, you were out of ideas, weren't you? Besides, isn't this what I suggested in the first place?"

"Yes, but you were content to leave it at simply commanding the team. On the other hand, by tasking Pekoe to lead the team in my so-called absence, we will be able to see how she both makes team selections as well as her performance during the match. I have faith Anchovy will keep things interesting as well."

Assam rolled her eyes, but otherwise didn't respond. Oh well, she'd just have to do what she could to help out Pekoe during the match, as well as keep an eye on her. She still held out hope that the rest of Darjeeling's tasks wouldn't end as spectacularly as the last one, but it never hurt to prepare.

* * *

It had been only been a few days since Anzio's visit, but to Pekoe, it felt like she'd put in at _least_ a couple weeks worth of work. She had her hands full with deciding on the tanks to be used in the upcoming match with Anzio, trying to develop a strategy for the match itself, as well as getting the replacement loader for the Churchill familiar with how Pekoe did things, especially since she was going to be commanding it in Darjeeling's stead. Today, she was meeting with Darjeeling and Assam to confirm the final roster, before training began in earnest.

"So, I was thinking we'd use the Churchill, of course, as well as at least two Matildas. What I'm unsure of is whether to include the Crusaders, and if so, how many. I also don't really have an idea as to what kind of tanks Anzio would field, though I think it's highly likely that the P40 will feature in it. Assam-sama, do you happen to have any data on Anzio's usual force composition?"

Assam turned back to her laptop. "Let's see...Anzio's had eleven matches with five or less tanks in the last five years, and they always used at least two CV-33s. The other tanks were usually their Semoventes and their M40 medium tanks, though they seem to have never really settled on a fixed number for those. I'd hazard a guess that they're likely to stick to that ratio for the upcoming match. That said, I've heard that their M40s are still inoperable, so I'd say they'll likely go with two each of the CV-33s and the Semoventes, as well as the P40. Darjeeling, anything else?"

Darjeeling nodded, putting down her teacup. "Assam's estimate sounds about right. I would add that Anzio tends to favour misdirection and ambush, as well as a final all-out assault if those initial tactics fail. Their tanks are too light to stand up to sustained combat, though I have never faced their new P40 directly in combat myself. Ordinarily, this would favour our usual tactics, but the new flag tank rule does introduce a new variable. What do you think, Pekoe?"

Pekoe mused over it for a few moments. It was true that the armour of the Matildas and the Churchill would usually be proof against the CV-33s, rendering them almost irrelevant. However, if the flag tank was switched to a speedy CV-33 in the middle of the match, it could escape while the slower St. Gloriana tanks struggled to maneuver, even accounting for the five minute transfer time. In that event, having the speedier Crusaders might make all the difference.

"I think that we'll need something speedier for both reconnaissance as well as hunting down the CV-33s, Darjeeling-sama. The Crusaders are always a good option, and if we need something faster, we could potentially include our Mark VI. There's also the Cromwell. It's as speedy as the Crusader, but better armed..."

"Do you know this saying? 'He is no wise man that will quit a certainty for an uncertainty.'"

"Samuel Johnson, the British writer," Pekoe murmured. "So, you're saying we should stick to what we're familiar with, Darjeeling-sama?"

Darjeeling smiled, picking up her cup again. "Precisely. The Cromwell may well be better than the Crusader, but there is currently no one who has much experience manning it and not enough time for us to remedy that. Fielding it against Kuromorimine was a calculated risk, since we needed something both speedy and capable of standing up to their heavier tanks. Using it against Anzio, on the other hand, may cause us more trouble than it is worth."

Assam looked up from her laptop, smirking slightly. "That reminds me. Darjeeling, didn't you take the P40 for a drive that one time? How did it handle?"

Darjeeling's cheeks turned a light shade of red. "I thought we agreed to not bring that particular incident up, Assam. Anchovy-san was kind enough to not make too much fuss over it, after all, especially since the Federation would be covering the damages. But to answer your question, it basically handled like an underpowered Cromwell."

Assam's grin only grew wider. "Certainly didn't seem underpowered to me when you were at the controls, Darjeeling."

"Have you heard this saying? 'Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.' I seem to recall a few incidents involving you, gunnery practice, and the Tea Garden building back in our first year..." Darjeeling's expression didn't change, but her tone promised swift and terrible retribution if Assam chose to continue on her current course of action.

Diplomatically ignoring the friendly squabbling going on between her seniors, Pekoe scribbled down a few more notes. There were a thousand and one things to be done before the match, and even if she couldn't do everything, she'd still do whatever she could and carry on. That was her senshadou, after all.

* * *

The morning of the match dawned bright and clear. Apparently, the only location Anchovy had managed to get was one in Anzio's home prefecture of Tochigi, since they were willing to accomodate their own academy ship's request at short notice. Since Tochigi was landlocked, that meant a slightly longer journey to the venue than usual by train. Pekoe had been using the time to continue planning out her strategy. Darjeeling had left to take care of whatever business she had to deal with a few days before this, but she promised to try and return in time to watch the match. Personally, Pekoe hoped she was delayed. She was nervous enough without having to think about being watched by Darjeeling-sama as well.

"Don't worry, Pekoe. You'll be fine." Assam was the only other person sharing the carriage, which felt a little unnatural to Pekoe. It just seemed strange to not have Darjeeling around when heading to a senshadou match. "It's normal to have a bit of the jitters, but Darjeeling wouldn't have asked you to do something you weren't ready for."

Smiling sheepishly, Pekoe lifted her head from her notes. "Was I really that obvious, Assam-sama?"

In answer, Assam just pointed at the papers strewn about in front of her. "You've managed to make three holes in the paper in the last ten minutes, and you misspelled your own name twice as well. I don't think I need to say anything else."

Flushing, Pekoe wadded up the ruined notes. "I suppose you're right, Assam-sama."

"Here, have some more tea. It'll help with the nerves." Assam filled Pekoe's teacup. "Did I ever tell you about Darjeeling's first match in command?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Well, it was against Kuromorimine, for starters." Assam laughed at the stunned look on Pekoe's face. "Yes, that's the same expression everyone gets when they hear that little tidbit. This was early in our second year, before you joined the team, I believe. Anyway, Earl Grey-taichou was going to be stepping down soon, and she wanted to give Darjeeling a chance to — "

"Orange Pekoe-san! We're here!" The carriage door was flung open and Rosehip burst in, already dressed in her senshadou uniform. Vanilla and Nilgiri, similarly attired, could be seen standing at the doorway.

Pekoe rose to her feet. "I'd appreciate it if you could continue the story later, Assam-sama. For now, we've got a match to fight. Let's get ready."

* * *

Pekoe shivered a little as another gust of wind hit her. Summer was barely over, but the weather was beginning to grow colder already. She was standing in line together with the other tank commanders, Nilgiri and Keemun, commanding the two Matildas, as well as Rosehip and Vanilla, who were commanding the Crusaders. In the end, Pekoe had decided on a slightly more cruiser-heavy force, hoping what she gave up in survivability would be more than compensated by the ability to actually chase down Anzio's pesky tankettes. She'd also decided to stick with the Churchill as her starting flag tank, trusting in both her familiarity with that role as well as the Churchill's thick armour.

Across from her, Anchovy and her tank commanders were lined up as well. Even as they both bowed and wished each other a good match, Pekoe's mind was busy adding the new information about Anzio's forces to her mental plans.

Anchovy's thought processes appeared to have gone along the way they had predicted, with two CV-33s, two Semoventes and their P40 being their five-tank roster. What they hadn't expected was that the P40 would be the starting flag tank. She'd thought it more likely that they'd put it on a CV-33 at first, before switching out later. Oh well, it wasn't a huge problem. She'd just have to keep an eye on the P40 earlier than she'd planned. The terrain looked favourable for ambushes, being open, rolling fields, but with wooded areas interspersed between them. Any attackers hidden in the woods would have a magnificent field of fire onto the open areas. She was going to have to be extra careful.

As the teams headed back to their respective starting locations, Pekoe went over the plan in her head one last time. It was a simple one, with the Crusaders scouting as well as going for any targets of opportunity, while the Matildas and the Churchill systematically advanced to take out the main force. She was unwilling to take too many risks with the flag switching, so she'd made no specific plans hinging on it, but she'd keep it in mind as an option if necessary.

She turned towards the two Crusader commanders. "Remember, Rosehip-san, Vanilla-san. Try and keep track of the flag tank at all times, and report immediately if you see it, especially if you see two tanks with the flag up at the same time."

"You got it, Pekoe-san, err, Pekoe-taichou!"

"Roger that, Pekoe-taichou."

Pekoe's mouth twisted a little in what was not _quite_ a smile. She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel a little excited at commanding, but what she mostly felt was anticipation and nervousness. She'd be glad when this was over, to tell the truth.

Climbing down the Churchill's hatch, she slid into what she would always think of as Darjeeling's seat, then glanced quickly over everything in the Churchill. Over at the gunner's seat, Assam gave her an encouraging smile, while the new loader, a second-year named Kangra looked expectantly at her. Pekoe did her best to project the aura of calm infallibility that Darjeeling seemed to have been born with, though she didn't think she could quite pull it off just yet.

From outside, the loud explosion of the anti-aircraft shell that marked the official start of the match could be heard. Pekoe lifted the mouthpiece of the radio set and flipped the 'transmit' button.

"This is Orange Pekoe. All tanks, advance!"

* * *

At Pekoe's command, all of St. Gloriana's tanks began moving forward. The Matildas fell in beside the Churchill, trundling along as they guarded its flanks. The Crusaders, on the other hand, peeled off in opposite directions, shooting off to begin their task of hunting for the enemy.

This was hardly Pekoe's first time in a tank, but somehow, she felt exactly like she had in her very first match — jittery and nervous. Nevertheless, she pushed the feelings away, though not without effort. There'd be time enough for reflection later. Right now, she had a job to do, and she was going to do it well.

As the infantry tanks neared the thin belt of woodland separating the open field they were in from the next, they slowed down slightly. Orange Pekoe didn't think Anzio could have managed to set up anything just yet, but it never hurt to be cautious.

"Vanilla-san, Rosehip-san, status report?"

"Vanilla here. The left flank seems clear. Will continue to scout along the edge of the woodlands."

"Right flank clear, Pekoe-taichou! I'll head down the road to check further."

"Noted. Both of you, keep going, but be careful. I'm sure Anzio has something hidden up their sleeves."

The Churchill and Matildas slowly moved past the trees, alert for any possible ambushes. Pekoe took a sip of tea and considered her options. Things seemed to be going smoothly for now, but the lack of action on Anzio's part worried her slightly. There wasn't any point fretting about it now, though. At least, that was what she told herself. She raised her cup to her lips again, then looked down at it blankly when it turned out to be empty. Had she really been that distracted?

"More tea, Orange Pekoe-taichou?" Kangra held out the teapot.

"Thank you, Kangra-san." It was a bit strange to be the one receiving the refill instead of the one offering it, though Pekoe thought she could definitely get used to it.

* * *

Rosehip hummed idly to herself as her Crusader roared down the road. Just a bit further to the crossroads up ahead, and they'd have finished sweeping the entire right flank of the match area, or at least St. Gloriana's half of it. She'd radio back to Pekoe-san then for further instructions. Then again, what was the harm in pressing on a bit? She was supposed to be scouting, after all. Pressing on was what a scout was supposed to do in the first place! Even if she was needed elsewhere, Rosehip had faith that she could get anywhere she was needed in time.

That said, it never hurt to double check that the notoriously finicky Crusader wasn't having any problems. St. Gloriana's mechanics had worked wonders in terms of getting the Crusaders to function somewhat reliably. Still, it wasn't unknown for even the best-maintained Crusader to suffer a sudden engine or drive shaft failure, especially under battlefield conditions. Rosehip still wouldn't trade it for anything else, though. Except maybe a Comet.

"Hibiscus-san, how's the engine holding up?"

"Purring like a baby, Rosehip-san! Just give the word, and I'll open 'er up! CV-33 or no, we're the fastest thing on this battlefield, and I'll prove it to anyone who disagrees!"

Hibiscus was the _other_ redheaded speed fiend on St. Gloriana's senshadou team. Wags on the team claimed the two of them were twins separated at birth. Naturally, she and Rosehip were thick as thieves, and Hibiscus had been overjoyed to be assigned to drive for Rosehip's tank. That said, Rosehip did wonder — in her more introspective moments — if the only reason Darjeeling-sama allowed both Hibiscus and herself to be in the same tank was to make it easier to keep an eye on both of them.

"Whoo, that sounds great! Err, I mean, that is most excellent, Hibiscus-san, do carry on. Oh, and bring us to a stop at the crossroads, I want to take a look around."

"Will do!"

The Crusader screeched to a halt at the crossroads, as Rosehip popped her head out of the turret hatch with a pair of binoculars. A quick look around confirmed her initial impression, which was that the crossroads were totally empty. She was just about to drop back into the turret when something whizzed past the Crusader.

"Ahh! That's one of Anzio's CV-33s! Hibiscus-san, turn us around! Osmanthus-san, fire at will!"

"Got it, Rosehip-san!"

The Crusader swung around and sent a 6-pounder shot towards the CV-33, blasting apart a few unfortunate trees, but not even scratching the fleeing tankette, which was putting more distance between itself and the Crusader by the second.

Growling, Rosehip gripped her teacup harder. "After them, Hibiscus-san! Don't let them get away!"

The Crusader surged forward as Hibiscus slammed her foot down on the accelerator. The chase was on, and Rosehip had absolutely no intention of letting her quarry escape.

* * *

As the infantry tanks emerged from the trees into the next field, the Churchill's radio set crackled. It was Keemun, in one of the Matildas.

"I think I see something at those buildings at the end of the field, Pekoe-taichou. It's probably one of Anzio's CV-33s, since it's too small to be one of their other tanks. I don't think they've realised we've spotted them yet, though. What should we do?"

Pekoe thought for a second. There was no way her infantry tanks could run down a CV-33, especially one at the other end of the field. On the other hand, there wouldn't be any reason to run it down if the CV-33 never saw them in the first place. Maybe she could have Vanilla chase it off? Of course, that would tip Anzio off about the presence of St. Gloriana's tanks.

"Pekoe-taichou! The CV-33 is heading this way. They've seen us!" It was Nilgiri this time, sounding rather excited.

Well, that made Pekoe's decision a lot easier. Anzio had obviously spotted them already, so there was no point in running, especially since a single CV-33 wouldn't be able to seriously threaten them. No, now she had to keep the Crusaders undetected.

"Nilgiri-san, Keemun-san, open fire. We'll be joining in as well."

Even before Pekoe finished speaking, Assam was already aiming the Churchill's gun, even as Kangra readied a shell to be reloaded as soon as the gun fired. The three St. Gloriana tanks fired almost at the same time. As dirt fountained into the air, the CV-33 could clearly be seen trying to turn around and escape.

Just as Pekoe was considering whether to let the CV-33 escape or not, the radio crackled again.

"Pekoe-taichou! Vanilla here, I see the P40! It's together with a single Semovente. I don't see any of the CV-33s or the other Semovente. Flag is still on the P40. They're at point B22 currently, but it looks like they'll be crossing the road and moving towards point B21."

Pekoe pencilled in the location of the two Anzio tanks on the tactical map of the battlefield before answering her teammate. "Stay where you are for now, Vanilla-san. We'll head towards B21 and intercept them there. Get ready to flank them or to pursue if necessary."

A muffled curse came over the radio in response, as well as what sounded suspiciously like shell explosions. "Pekoe-taichou, I think they've spotted me! Currently taking fire from both the Semovente and the P40!"

"Pull out and try to lose them, Vanilla-san. If possible, try and circle around after that."

"Roger!"

Pekoe glanced down at the map again, then folded it and passed it to Kangra for safekeeping. It looked like it was time to strike. "Ruhuna-san, bring us to point B21. We'll try and pin them in place. Nilgiri-san, Keemun-san, stay in formation and cover the Churchill. Take down the Semovente first if possible. Ignore the CV-33 for now, but stay alert."

The Matildas and the Churchill slowly began moving towards the point reported by Vanilla, even as Pekoe's mind whirred. There was still one CV-33 and one Semovente unaccounted for. _Where were they?_

* * *

Rosehip's blood was thoroughly up at the moment. That cheeky little tankette didn't even have the decency to stay still for a single minute and let itself get blasted into oblivion! No, instead it weaved and juked around every obstacle, dodged any shots the Crusader fired with ease, and generally made itself a pest. Why, it even kept doing that stupid little trick that Anzio liked to pull, flipping around 180 degrees and driving backward while peppering the Crusader with machine gun fire. Sure, none of the shots had penetrated, but it was the principle of the thing!

She glared at the tankette, even as Osmanthus snapped off another shot. Just like all the previous ones, it failed to find its mark. At least the CV-33 had been forced to dodge this time.

"Keep firing, Osmanthus-san! We'll hit it eventually!"

Osmanthus simply nodded, already readjusting the gun, even as Rosehip slammed another round into the breech.

What was it doing now? Was it... turning around? Again?! Rosehip was getting tired of this chase, something she'd never thought she'd say. Now it was heading back to the crossroads again! Well, not if she had anything to say about it!

"Fire!"

The Crusader's six-pounder barked out again, and the CV-33 careened wildly as the shot fell just short of it. For a moment, it looked as if it would flip over, but whoever was driving it knew her stuff, and the tankette managed to stabilise itself and keep going.

"Ah, nearly got it that time! Keep it up, Osmanthus-san!" She'd settle that tankette's hash once and for all, or her name wasn't Rosehip!

* * *

Over on the other side of the battlefield, the other CV-33 had soon realised it was being ignored and turned around to follow the three infantry tanks as they ground their way across the open field. It was currently trailing behind the rearmost tank, staying out of range of St. Gloriana's guns, but otherwise not doing anything other than let loose the occasional burst of machine gun fire. Pekoe thought it must have been maddening for the crew, who were probably used to zipping around and harassing their foes, not inching along behind three slower tanks who were too well-armoured to worry about their attacks. It spoke volumes of Anchovy that she had managed to get her teammates to actually have some self-control during battles, considering how ... feisty they usually were.

The radio crackled again. It was Nilgiri, bringing up the rear. "Pekoe-taichou, the CV-33 has stopped following us. It's heading in the complete opposite direction now."

Perhaps it was tired of taking ineffectual potshots at them? Any discipline Anchovy had instilled could dampen Anzio's ardour for only so long, apparently. Well, if the CV-33 wanted to leave, Pekoe certainly wasn't going to chase it down. She was nearly at the point Vanilla had indicated, and pursuing the speedy tankette would just be a distraction at this point.

As they neared point B21, Pekoe popped open the hatch to get a better look. She was greeted by nothing more than a road in the distance, cutting directly through the fields, then upwards into the woods. There was no sign of any of Anzio's tanks at all, save for the fleeing CV-33 in the distance, which appeared to be nearly at the treeline.

Strange. Very strange. Vanilla had been sure they were heading towards B21. Where could they have gone? Surely they couldn't have turned around, not without being spotted by Vanilla. Her gut was feeling uneasy again, but this was different from her earlier nerves. Anzio had to have some sort of plan, but Pekoe just couldn't seem to see it.

Wait.

Why would the CV-33 suddenly pull back? Surely Anchovy would want to keep tabs on the whereabouts of the Churchill. Anzio's other tanks were also not where they were supposed to be, and somehow, Pekoe _knew_ those two things were connected. But how?

It was times like this that Pekoe missed having Darjeeling-sama around. Somehow, she would be able to take these disparate bits of information and piece them all together into a coherent whole, then come up with a strategy to take advantage of the situation. Pekoe had seen Darjeeling do it many times, so why was she having so much trouble trying to do it herself?

Pekoe shook her head a little. She had to focus, not feel sorry for herself. Lowering her head, Pekoe took a deep breath, holding it and calming herself as much as she could before letting it out slowly. She might not be Darjeeling-sama, but Darjeeling-sama had faith in her to command the team, so she would command the team in a way she knew how. Maybe she should approach this like a problem in the classroom instead. It might let her look at it from a different angle.

First, state the problem. That was easy, she couldn't find Anzio's tanks and didn't know why.

Next, break the problem down. Alright, that was simple too. Anzio's P40 and the Semovente had disappeared, and the CV-33 shadowing St. Gloriana earlier had pulled out as well. One more Semovente and CV-33 were also unaccounted for. She had to figure out where they were and what they were doing.

Now, list out possible solutions to the problem. Why would Anzio's tanks pull back? It wasn't a retreat in the face of overwhelming firepower. They had outnumbered the Crusader, after all. Yes, they knew where Pekoe's main force was via the CV-33, but if they had turned back to avoid facing them, Vanilla would have spotted them. Unless.. they hadn't turned back after all, but stayed put instead!

Of course! The only reason that all of Anzio's tanks would pull back and disappear like that would be to hide, and the only reason they would have to hide would be if they were going to _change the flag tank_. It could also be an ambush, true, but from the way Anchovy had been talking about the format, Pekoe thought it was highly likely that she'd want to try out the new format and perform a flag swap. It might even be both, after all. A quick swap, then a CV-33 bearing the flag would be speeding away to lose itself in the woods, and then trying to winkle it out with her infantry tanks would just be asking for an ambush. Even the missing CV-33 and Semovente could be explained if Anzio was setting up an ambush together with the flag swap.

Dropping back down into the tank, Pekoe glanced about, first casually then a bit more frantically. Where was the tactical map?! It should be right next to her ... wait. Oh. Right. She was the commander in this match, not Darjeeling-sama, and her usual place was occupied by someone else. Someone else whom Pekoe had handed the tactical map to earlier, in fact.

Ignoring both Kangra's look of confusion as well as Assam's tiny smile, Pekoe turned to Kangra. "Ah, Kangra-san, if you would be so kind as to pass me the tactical map, please?"

Taking the proffered map, Pekoe spread it out as best as she could and stared at it intently. If she wanted somewhere to hunker down while the flag was being transferred, where would she go? Immediately, her eye fell on point C21, where the road wound upwards into the woods. It was also right next to where Vanilla had spotted the flag tank earlier as well. Of course, that was the perfect spot for an ambush as well, but even if there was one prepared, this might be their only chance to hit the P40 before it stopped being the flag tank. They would just have to take the risk.

Making her decision, Pekoe picked up the radio transmitter. "Vanilla-san, please head to point C21 as quickly as you can. Approach through the woods, not the road. Anzio's flag tank is likely to be there, but they are probably transferring their flag now. Keep a sharp eye out, and be wary of ambushes. Report back immediately if you see anything."

"Got it!"

"Keemun-san, Nilgiri-san, follow me. Anzio is likely preparing an ambush as well as transferring their flag now. We'll try and spring the ambush, and hopefully disrupt any transfer of the flag. They might not flee immediately, especially if we take them by surprise. If we can pin them down in the confusion, we should be able to take out the flag tank."

As Keemun's and Nilgiri's acknowledgements came over the radio, Assam turned around to face Orange Pekoe, face serious. "Just be careful, Pekoe. Anchovy can be pretty tricky at times. If Vanilla is taken out before she locates them, we'll be going in blind."

Pekoe nodded slowly. "I know that, Assam-sama, but this might be our only chance to get the flag tank before they switch over. Having to hunt down a CV-33 instead of the P40 would make our job a lot harder, and we only have one Crusader in the vicinity. Rosehip's still scouting the other side of the battlefield, and even if we contacted her now, she wouldn't be able to make it back here in time before the CV-33 vanished into the forest."

Assam acknowledged Pekoe's reasoning with a small nod of her own, before turning back to her gunsight. Pekoe wanted to sag a little in her seat, but she forced herself to stay calm and composed. Was this how Darjeeling-sama felt all the time?

Just then, another transmission from Vanilla came through. "Pekoe-taichou, I'm in the woods now, nearly at point C21, and I'm pretty sure I see the P40, with the flag still up. The CV-33 is there as well, and it looks like it has a flag as well! They tried camouflaging the tanks, but I'm positive it's them."

"Noted, Vanilla-san. We'll be in firing range in a minute. Start firing when I give the signal, but not before that. We'll try and catch them in a pincer. Pekoe out."

As Pekoe replaced the transmitter, she caught Kangra's eyes. The girl looked seriously awed, but let out a small "Eep!" and hastily looked away when she realised Pekoe had seen her staring. Assam didn't even bother to try and hide her amusement at the sight, snickering quietly to herself. Pekoe sighed inwardly, and took another sip of tea. The sooner this was over and she was back beside Darjeeling-sama in her usual place, the better. Commanding the team was a lot more stressful than she had ever thought it would be.

* * *

Orange Pekoe could feel a thin beading of sweat forming on her forehead as the Churchill quietly trundled forward. Well, as quietly as a forty-ton tank could, anyway. Everyone else around her was equally nervous, even Assam-sama. To anyone else, the blonde would have looked perfectly calm, but you didn't spend hours in a small turret with someone without getting to know them well. The slight tensing of Assam's eyes, her ever-so-slightly faster breathing; all these were tell-tale giveaways of her current state to Pekoe.

Nevertheless, it was only a matter of time before — There! A hint of blue amongst the trees. It was Anzio's P40, tucked away in a little clearing behind the trees, and its flag was still up. And what was that? Another P40?

Observing the same thing as Pekoe through her own scope, Assam smiled grimly. "Looks like the Anzio girls are trying to prepare macaroni for us today."

"It's unfortunate that we'll have to interrupt their cooking, then," Pekoe answered. "If you'd be so kind as to get them to spill their sauce, Assam-sama, it would be much appreciated."

Peering carefully through the periscope, Orange Pekoe admired Anzio's plywood replica of the P40, complete with flag. It would have fooled most casual observers, and only the fact that they managed to spot them both together had spoiled the illusion. Looking around the rest of the clearing, Pekoe could see the CV-33 as well, which already had the flag marking them as the new Anzio flag tank. Both the Semoventes were here as well, guarding the clearing. It looked like they'd have to face all of Anzio's firepower here, but this was their best chance at winning the match. They'd managed to arrive at the perfect moment, when the flag was being transferred and both flag tanks were immobile and vulnerable. Now, all they could do was to trust in the thickness of their armour and the element of surprise to carry the day for St. Gloriana's.

As the Churchill came to a stop just shy of the woods, Pekoe picked up her transmitter. "Churchill is in position. Status report, please."

"Nilgiri in position!"

"Keemun, in position and ready for orders."

"Vanilla here, ready!"

Pekoe nodded to herself, and thumbed the transmit button once more.

"Prioritise Anzio's flag tanks if possible, but watch out for the Semoventes. Remember that the left-most P40 is a decoy. Vanilla-san, when we start firing, come in from the flanks and go for the CV-33. Advance and fire at will."

The Churchill rumbled forward, smashing aside trees as Ruhuna threw aside all attempts at stealth. Beside Pekoe, Assam adjusted the main gun, training it squarely on the real P40 before squeezing the trigger. Beside the Churchill, the two advancing Matildas opened fire as well. Three near-simultaneous explosions rocked the clearing, sending trees flying and raising a massive cloud of dust at the same time. With a little luck, they'd taken out either the P40 or the CV-33 with their first salvo and won the match right there and then.

Unfortunately, Pekoe's hopes soon proved to be unfounded, as answering shots began ringing out from the P40. One Semovente had been knocked out, but it looked like Anchovy had recovered from her surprise sooner than she would have liked. Well, a plan never survived first contact with the enemy anyway.

"All tanks, continue firing. Don't waste the element of surprise."

Another round of shots volleyed forth from St. Gloriana's tanks, just as Vanilla's Crusader burst out on the far side of the clearing. Pekoe clenched her fist quietly. This was it! Now, with the CV-33 boxed in, all they had to do was finish off the P40, and then —

Out of nowhere, a loud boom resounded around the clearing, scattering leaves and dust everywhere and revealing a 75 mm cannon incongruously sticking out of a little hillock off to one side. Before Pekoe's stunned eyes, the Crusader took the shot directly to its flank, bowling it across the clearing and onto its side. The sound of the white flag deploying simply confirmed what everyone knew already.

Kangra nearly dropped the teapot in her shock. "It's the final Semovente, Pekoe-taichou! The one there is a decoy! Anzio must have dug this one in and camouflaged it!"

To St. Gloriana's credit, this sudden and dramatic shift in their fortune only kept them distracted for a few moments. Even before the Crusader had shut down completely, their remaining tanks were aiming at the new threat, with Assam even managing to get another shot off. However, even the short respite was enough for the P40 to fire back and take out Nilgiri's Matilda, then charge forward to block the path between the CV-33 and St. Gloriana's remaining tanks, even as it dropped the flag which marked it as the flag tank.

Pekoe bit back a curse. The five minutes were up, and Anzio's CV-33 was even now escaping into the woods. Keemun was doing her best to take out the dug-in Semovente, while Assam calmly traded shots with the P40, but nothing seemed to be having an effect. It looked like the P40 was attempting to retreat too. They needed to hunt down that CV-33 _yesterday_. If the P40 managed to give them the slip, they'd have to deal with even more ambushes, and Anchovy only needed to get lucky once. She reached for the radio transmitter. It was all up to Rosehip now.

* * *

"Go, go, go! We're gaining on them!"

Hibiscus rolled her eyes. "I can see that! Now, _shut up_ and let me drive, Rosehip!"

Rosehip barely registered Hibiscus's irritation, too intent on her prey. The CV-33 had led them a merry chase thus far, but it seemed like that would end soon. The driver was beginning to make small mistakes, and together they were adding up. A little more, and they should be able to corner the CV-33 and finally take it out. She didn't think they'd even have to remove the limiters!

Just then, the radio crackled for the first time in a while. Eyes still fixed to her periscope, Rosehip grabbed for the transmitter.

"Rosehip-san, what's your status and where are you?" It was Orange Pekoe, and she sounded stressed.

"We're at..." Rosehip tore herself away from her periscope just long enough to grab her map and spread it out, before pressing her eyes back on the viewer. "... point D23, and currently pursuing one of Anzio's CV-33s, Pekoe-san. Sorry, Pekoe-taichou! Arghh, nearly had it that time! Adjust 5 degrees down, Osmanthus-san!"

The radio hissed slightly, a sign that the transmission channel was being switched. "What! Rosehip, weren't you scouting? This is no time for you to be haring off on some wild goose chase! Have you been chasing that tankette all this while?" Rosehip winced at Assam-sama's tone. Had she done something wrong?

"Assam-sama, we can discuss that later." Pekoe's gentle voice was back on the radio, though there was a lot more frustration in it than usual. "Rosehip-san, we need you urgently. Vanilla's tank is down, and the P40 and one of the Semoventes are keeping us pinned down at point C21. Anzio has transferred their flag to their other CV-33. The P40 looks like it's trying to withdraw as well. You need to find the flag tank and take it out quickly, or else we might not win this match."

Rosehip was beginning to turn pale, as the gravity of the situation began to sink in.

"Last we saw, the tankette was fleeing north-north-east of our position. I think you can intercept it if you continue on your present heading."

"Got it, Pek—"

At that point, a sudden sharp swerve of the Crusader nearly sent Rosehip flying. It was all she could do to keep from smashing into the side of the tank. As it was, she was going to have a very impressive bruise to show tomorrow. Unfortunately, the radio transmitter wasn't so fortunate, Rosehip having accidentally yanked it loose due to the force of the turn. Swearing up a blue streak, she clambered back onto her seat as the Crusader came to a halt.

"Hibiscus, what's the big idea! I nearly died! Anyway, why have we stopped? You heard Pekoe-taichou, we need to get going again to hunt down the flag tank!"

"Err, Rosehip-san, I think we won't have to look very hard for it."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Just look outside."

Rosehip popped open the hatch and stuck her head out, only to find a vaguely familiar Anzio student groggily staring back at her from where her CV-33 had flipped on its side, a few meters away. Another CV-33, also on its side, was about thirty meters away, but the crew of that tankette were apparently less affected by the spill and were already pushing their vehicle upright so they could continue. Even as Rosehip stared open-mouthed, the CV-33 fell back upright with a thud, revealing a bright blue flag jauntily fluttering in the breeze. The crew jumped back in, and the CV-33 roared off again.

Rosehip dropped back down into her tank. She wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Hibiscus-san, I'm removing the limiters! Let's go!"

* * *

Things were looking grim back at the clearing. A lucky hit had taken out the Churchill's left track and done _something_ to the turret traverse at the same time, and while the damage was minor enough to not eliminate them outright, it was still enough to prevent them from moving or from traversing the turret more than a few degrees from its current position. Any field repairs would be impossible while the tank was still under fire, and Anchovy knew that very well. The P40 was maneuvering itself slowly and carefully around the immobilised tank, keeping up a steady fire throughout. At the moment, the P40 was still wary, thanks to the occasional well-aimed shot from Assam, but all that would change once they got out of the reach of the Churchill's gun. Once that happened, they could blast away at the Churchill all they liked without a care in the world. The Churchill could probably last about 10 minutes under that kind of bombardment, 15 at the absolute most. The worst part was that Pekoe could see it all unfolding before her, but without any way to stop it.

In the Churchill's turret, Kangra was still trying to contact Rosehip, though without much success. Next to her, Pekoe was sitting stiffly in the commander's seat, head bowed and shoulders hunched over. The slight pressure of a hand on her knee finally made her stir.

"Assam-sama? What is it?"

"Don't beat yourself up too much, Pekoe. You couldn't have known about that concealed Semovente." Assam's tone was firm, as was her expression. "There's no point to dwelling on mistakes, especially while a match is still going on."

"I should have been prepared for what happened, Assam-sama. Darjeeling-sama would have realised it earlier and done something about it." Pekoe was still staring at the floor, voice soft and flat.

Assam scoffed loudly. "Nonsense! Darjeeling is an excellent commander, but she's not psychic or infallible. You did everything correctly, but still got blindsided by unexpected circumstances. It happens to everyone sooner or later, and when I say everyone, I mean _everyone_. I've got plenty of data to prove it, too. Besides, we still have a chance, since Rosehip's still out there. Chin up!"

Pekoe finally looked up from the floor, wan smile on her face, though she still didn't look fully convinced. "I suppose you're right, Assam-sama. It's just that — yes, Kangra-san? Did you manage to get through to Rosehip-san?"

"Ahh, s-sorry to interrupt, Pekoe-taichou, Assam-sama; but it's Keemun-san in the Matilda. She's trying to contact us," Kangra said, fidgeting uneasily as both Pekoe and Assam turned in her direction.

"Then patch her through, Kangra-san," Pekoe said, face firming up slightly.

Kangra hesitated for a short while, looking as if she had something else to say, before finally nodding and turning a few dials. Keemun's voice immediately came through loud and clear.

"Pekoe-taichou, we're in a spot of trouble right now. The Semovente's got us pinned down and detracked, so any assistance would be much appreciated." Keemun's voice was still steady; something Pekoe was silently grateful for. It was stressful enough dealing with one excitable tank commander; she certainly didn't need another one. Then again, she couldn't blame anyone for losing their composure in this sort of situation.

"Noted, Keemun-san. Unfortunately, we've managed to get detracked ourselves, and the turret's jammed as well. The P40 is keeping us from attempting any field repairs. You're on your own for now, I'm afraid, though I don't think it will be for very long." How her voice managed to remain calm and steady throughout, Pekoe would never know.

A short silence followed, before Keemun responded. "Well, we'll do what we can then, Pekoe-taichou. It was a good match. Keemun out."

As Pekoe cut the connection and handed the receiver back to Kangra, the gloom on the loader's face was clear. She looked at the floor, mumbling something to herself, before picking up a shell and ramming it into the breech a bit harder than was strictly needed.

"Wait. Say that again, Kangra-san." Pekoe's voice was hushed. Over at the gunner's seat, Assam cocked her head in puzzlement.

"Huh?"

"You said something while reloading just now. Could you repeat it again?"

"Eh? All I said was that the way Anzio was going, we'd probably be stuck here helpless for a while before they took us out. A bit unsporting of them, in my opinion."

"Kangra-san, you're a genius!" Pekoe's eyes were coming alive again.

"I am? Really?"

"We've got no time to lose. Contact Rosehip-san again, quickly! Let's hope she picks up this time, it's our only hope!"

* * *

Rosehip swore as she kept fiddling with the radio. She was _sure_ she'd fixed it that time, but she was still getting nothing but static.

"The engine's redlining! We can't keep this up much longer!" Hibiscus yelled down the intercom. Typical. Try and keep from removing the limiters to save the engine wear and tear, and then the one time she removed the limiters in ages, it decided that it couldn't take it.

"We won't have to, cause we'll have won soon enough! Keep going!" Rosehip yelled back, slamming down the receiver.

Almost immediately, the intercom buzzed again. "We've got a problem! Lots of hairpin turns up ahead, and the CV-33 is already halfway down!"

Rosehip grabbed the nearest handhold with her free hand. "No time to take it normally, use the slope! Brace yourselves!"

Rather than taking the corner, the Crusader shot off the road and into the air, crashing onto the slope a few seconds later. As they hurtled down the hill, Hibiscus did her best to avoid obstacles and keep the ride smooth. She was _mostly_ successful: none of them fell out of their seat, though Rosehip came close several times. Their teacups, on the other hand, weren't so lucky.

Rosehip's mad gamble was working, though. Even as the Crusader's crew bounced up and down with every single bump and divot they hit, the distance separating the Crusader and the CV-33 was shrinking rapidly. The CV-33 was nearly off the hill, and they'd have lost it for sure if they had stayed on the road.

Rosehip kept her eyes fixed on the desperately accelerating CV-33, even as they finally approached the base of the hill. This was her chance! Take out the CV-33, and she could win this match for St Gloriana! Darjeeling-sama and Pekoe-san would praise her, and Assam-sama might even let her off without a scolding this time!

"The second we reach the bottom, give it everything you've got! They won't get away this time!"

Just then, the radio sprang to life for the first time in a while.

"Roseh ... Can y... hear me?"

"Ah! Pekoe-taichou!"

"No tim... Deploy the flag in the Crusader immed...stop for five minu...!"

"What!? But we've nearly caught the CV-33!" Rosehip couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"We're about to be... Do it ... Rosehip, trust me!" With a final crackle, the line went dead as the Crusader slid off the slope and onto level ground at last.

At that point, Rosehip had only moments to make a decision. She made it almost instantaneously and without hesitation.

* * *

Pekoe popped open the hatch of the Churchill for the first time in what seemed like months, but was probably closer to a few hours. Carefully pulling herself out of the turret and taking a seat on its edge, she took a deep breath of fresh air. Across from her, the P40's hatch popped open as well, and a smiling Anchovy emerged.

"Well, you put up a great fight, Orange Pekoe, but it looks like it wasn't enough. Hah! This feels great! I don't think I've ever defeated St. Gloriana before! I don't think _Anzio's_ ever defeated St. Gloriana before! The celebration's gonna be —"

Pekoe cleared her throat, interrupting Anchovy's increasingly excited rambling. "I'm terribly sorry, but the match isn't over yet, Anchovy-san."

"Isn't over? Huh? What on earth are you talking about? Your tank's knocked out, we can all see that!"

"Yes, the Churchill is knocked out, but we're not the flag tank any more."

"Not the flag? Wha — "

Still not quite grasping what was happening, Anchovy took a closer look at the Churchill. Pekoe was telling the truth. The blue flag that marked it out as the flag tank had been lowered.

Horror was slowly dawning on Anchovy's face. "What!? When did that happen?"

"According to my data, about a minute before you managed to knock us out." Assam was the next one to emerge from the turret. She stretched herself, working out the kinks in her back, before looking upwards. "Oh look, it's the judges in their plane. I think they're making an announcement."

Assam was soon proven right, as the voice of the head judge boomed over the battlefield. "Anzio High School's flag tank has been eliminated. As such, the victory goes to St. Gloriana's Girls College!"

Anchovy looked like someone had emptied a bucket of cold water on her, as she groped for words. "You ... but... how... what happened?"

"Rosehip happened, surprisingly enough." Assam replied, a tiny smile on her face. "I think I might just let her off this time without a scolding. In any case, congratulations on your first win as commander, Pekoe."

Pekoe was too tired to do anything but smile wearily back. All she wanted to do right now was go to sleep for a week, and if there was any justice in the world, they'd let her.

* * *

"All right, it's time for the toast! Orange Pekoe, please stand up!" Anchovy had soon recovered from the shock of her loss, and was now presiding over Anzio's customary post-match banquet, which had been set up with an efficiency and speed Kuromorimine would kill to have. While Pekoe had attempted to plead tiredness, Anchovy wouldn't hear of it, and had practically forced her into the seat next to hers.

Smiling awkwardly, Pekoe rose, glass of sparkling juice in hand. A loud cheer, from both Anzio and St. Gloriana students greeted her.

Anchovy raised her own glass. "Now, everyone! All together after me: Congratulations on your first victory, Orange Pekoe!"

"CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR FIRST VICTORY, ORANGE PEKOE!"

Anchovy looked pleased at the volume of the response. "That's the spirit! Now, let's get back to the food! Which, may I add, is all _proper_ food, like pasta or pizza! None of that weird boiled stuff or jellies here!"

A few seats away from Anchovy, Pepperoni shuddered a little. "I still see that calf's-foot jelly in my nightmares sometimes..." Beside her, Carpaccio nodded in solemn agreement.

"Anyway, let's eat!"

Another cheer, even louder than the previous one, greeted Anchovy's declaration. Pekoe sat back down, shaking her head in fond exasperation. Well, she could think of worse ways to celebrate a victory. Still, why did Anzio always have to be so _loud_?

* * *

As the celebration continued into the night, Assam and Anchovy had slipped away and were chatting in a quiet (well, less noisy) corner of the match grounds. The party was still going in full swing just a few metres away, and they could barely hear each other over its sound. That was probably the reason both of them jumped a little when a figure materialised out of the shadows next to them.

"Goodness gracious, Darjeeling! Don't _do_ that!" Assam was the first to recover.

Looking the picture of innocence in her white sundress, Darjeeling smirked a little. "Do what, Assam?"

" _That_! Oh, forget it." Assam crossed her arms. "I suppose you watched the whole thing from the stands?"

"I certainly did, though I do want to ask you a few questions later. But first, l want to thank you very much for your help, Anchovy-san. It was much appreciated." A deep bow of gratitude accompanied Darjeeling's statement.

Anchovy had gotten over the shock of Darjeeling's appearance by now, and beamed back at St. Gloriana's commander. "You're very welcome, Darjeeling. I hope it all turned out to your satisfaction? I think Orange Pekoe did excellently in the commander's role, by the way. I certainly wasn't expecting what happened at the end."

Assam smiled. "You can say that again, Anchovy-san. I still can't believe that Rosehip actually both stopped chasing an opponent on Pekoe's say-so, _and_ had the presence of mind to realise that she could still fire even while immobile and deploying the flag."

Darjeeling nodded. "Yes, everything was most satisfactory, Anchovy-san. Again, my thanks for setting up this match and going along with my suggestions."

The green-haired girl laughed. "Think nothing of it, Darjeeling! I'm sure you'd have done the same for me. Which reminds me, I really need to get around to deciding who's going to take over Anzio's team once I graduate..."

"Have you heard this saying? 'A person who knows how to receive a favor, but not how to return one is worthless.' If you ever need any help, simply ask and I shall do my best to assist."

"I will, I will! Now, if you'll excuse me, I think Pepperoni's about to get into another arm-wrestling match. The last time that happened, she managed to set all of our tents on fire, so I'd better stop her before she does something like that or worse."

As Anchovy dashed off, Assam turned to Darjeeling with an eyebrow raised. "How does an arm-wrestling match lead to a fire?"

"I think we would be better off not knowing, Assam. But anyway, tell me more about the match."

Assam let out a sigh. "It was a tough match, Darjeeling. Still, Pekoe managed to handle it well. I think we can tick off 'dealing with unexpected feints and deception' from the list of tasks."

Darjeeling frowned a little. "I still think arranging for a cooking tournament with Anzio would have been the better test, Assam. I can't imagine why I let you talk me out of it."

Assam resisted the urge to facepalm, but it was a near thing.

"Whoever ended up as judges would never have spoken to us again after that, Darjeeling. Especially if you had competed as part of the team like you wanted to."

"Oh, pish-tush, Assam. They'd have loved my cooking, whomever they might have been. You all certainly seem to enjoy it whenever I prepare dinner. Also, we could have tested Pekoe's composure in a situation she didn't have any training for."

"You _do_ remember how the Anzio girls reacted to your offer of food last time, right?"

"They had urgent business elsewhere, Assam. I hardly see what that has to do with the food we offered them."

Assam sighed again. "Let's just round up the rest of the girls and go home, Darjeeling. It's been a long day, and I really could use a hot bath and a soft bed."

"Oh, very well. Home it is."

* * *

A/N: The incident Assam alludes to in the first part of the chapter apparently occurs in Drama CD 4, where Darjeeling manages to wreck Anzio's P40 during some tank exchange program, hence why they showed up in a CV-33. Unfortunately, I've not been able to get much more details on the incident, since the Drama CD is still untranslated. Only other detail that I could find was that Darjeeling didn't worry too much, since the senshadou federation would pay for it. Still, I'd like to think Darjeeling feels some remorse over it. Even if she initially didn't, Pekoe would make sure that she did by now.


End file.
